We Will Burn the Sky
by BehindTheWallOfSleep
Summary: This is the sequel to my story "Always Somewhere". For this particular story, Dil Pickles will be the central figure, but the other characters will appear as well. Dil's world has changed dramatically, since the end of "Always Somewhere". The changes have been both for the good and for the bad.
1. One Night in Tokyo

**Author's Note**: Well, everyone, the curtain has risen again. Here is the sequel to _Always Somewhere_. One thing that I may be criticized for in his chapter has to do with traveling and time, since it will involve an incident with the International Date Line. For this story, Dil is going to be a central character, but that, of course, does not mean that the other characters will not appear in this story. This story takes place a little over two years, after the previous one ended. Because of that, I may not be able to insert as many 'historical events' as I did with the previous story, since I'm basically writing in the future. Regardless of which, I would still ask all of you to please read and give me some critical reviews.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter I**

The time was late March 2016—the time when most Christians were celebrating Holy Week. The date was March 24, and the setting was in Tokyo, Japan. On this particular evening, Dark Stairway was one of two opening acts for Iron Maiden at the Tokyo Dome. The other band was a Swedish Doom Metal band called Witchcraft. For this particular night, Dark Stairway was given the management's blessing to perform second. The band had found some success. The first album had gone gold, and their second album, _Volume II_, was doing quite well. At the conclusion of a song, Dark Stairway's frontman, Dil Pickles, who wore a red and black robe—which exposed his Star of David and crucifix necklaces at the chest—spoke to the sell out crowd.

"Thank you!" said Dil. "That, of course, was the song 'Eternity' from our second album that we have released at the moment called _Volume II_, because if it worked for Led Zeppelin, it can work for us too."

Many in the crowd chuckled.

Dil smiled. "Now then, we'd like to play another song on that album. This song has a historical significance about a real life couple—an emperor and empress. In fact, I believe you guys fought this emperor, and kicked his ass."

The Japanese fans laughed.

Again, Dil smiled. "In fact, a movie was released recently about these two people, and for some reason this song was left off the score by somebody's older brother—there you go, Tommy. You might get featured on _Blabbermouth_, because of me."

Many in the crowd chuckled.

Once again, Dil smiled. "Now then, here's a song called 'Nicky and Alix'." 'Nicky and Alix' was a song Dil was inspired to write, due to his older brother's movie about Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra. Yet, Dil was upset, when Tommy told him that the song simply did not have a place in the movie. However, Tommy informed his younger brother that when a movie soundtrack was released, he would try to include 'Nicky and Alix' as a final song on the soundtrack.

At the conclusion of 'Nicky and Alix', Dil once again addressed the crowd. "Thank you! Well now, we've played some of the new, how about if we play some of the old?"

The crowd cheered.

"I am sure that many of you have your cellphones out," continued Dil. "Not that you didn't for the previous songs that you heard tonight. Well, there is one thing that you must always remember Mr. and Mrs. Bootleg men and women…there is a 'Dark Side' to everything."

After Dil finished his statement, Dark Stairway proceeded to play their song 'Dark Side'. With 'Dark Side' concluded, Dil once again turned to the crowd.

"Thank you much! Now then, I'm sure that some of you might be aware that Dark Stairway is a band that performs covers from time to time."

The crowd cheered. On their second album, Dark Stairway covered The Scorpions's 'We'll Burn the Sky'. However, before Dark Stairway left to go on tour with Iron Maiden, Dil requested to his bandmates that they not perform the song.

"Yes, you see," continued Dil, "we don't like forget where we came from, and we don't like to forget the bands, who were an inspiration for us. One of those bands happened to be a band called Iron Maiden."

Again, the crowd cheered. Many in the crowd chanted 'Maiden! Maiden!' Dil smiled, and displayed his palms. He raised his arms to continue the chants.

"Yes," added Dil, "Iron Maiden was one of those bands. But since Iron Maiden is going to be playing tonight…"

Once again, the crowd cheered.

"It would be disrespectful of us to play a Maiden song, since you're going to get to hear the real thing fairly soon," said Dil. "Therefore, what can we do? Well, I have a solution. Some of you might know that I'm a Religious Studies major, and, therefore, I know a little bit about the major religious traditions around the world. Even though Japan is about one-percent Christian, in the Western part of the world, we have entered Holy Week, which celebrates the passion and resurrection of Jesus. Today, of all days, is Holy Thursday—the day of the Last Supper with Jesus and his disciples. Well now, a great German band, named Grave Digger, has a song about this particular event. So let's play a little of that for Holy Thursday."

The crowd cheered.

And Dark Stairway began to play the opening notes of Grave Digger's 'The Last Supper'. But as they did so, a fan in the first couple of rows began to shine a laser pointer in Dil's direction.

"Hey!" Dil said, while he pointed at the man. "Put that damn laser pointer away!"

With his warning concluded, Dil started to sing. "'Well done, my friend. Thanks for the offer. We'll catch him at night to end this game.'"

But before Dil could sing the next verse, the fan once again displayed the laser pointer in Dil's direction.

"Damn it, that's twice!" said Dil. "Put that damn pointer away!"

Caught off guard, Dil had to catch up with the lyrics. "'Judas sits right by my side. His eyes are full of fear and pride. It's my last supper! After this, I will…'"

The fan again interrupted Dil.

"Damn it! That's three times with that pointer. Security, get this guy out of here!"

In response, the fan once again directed the laser pointer in Dil's direction.

Dil's face became like thunder. He placed his microphone on a stand and said, "Fine! I'll take the damn pointer myself, and shove it up your ass!"

Dil leaped from the stage and into the crowd. He attempted to grab the fan, but security intervened. Dark Stairway stopped playing. They were stunned by what their lead singer had chosen to do.

As the fan was being removed from the arena, Dil returned to the stage.

"Dil," began Andrew, "who do you think you are? Axl Rose?"

"Fuck him!" responded Dil. "Don't lump me in with him."

"Uh, Dil," began Chris, "look at your robe."

Dil observed his robe. It had been torn by the crowd. "Fuck!" he murmured.

Dil removed his robe, which resulted in a loud response from the crowd. _"What a waste of a good robe,"_ thought Dil. _"I doubt it can be compensated. Maybe a tailor can fix it?"_ With no shirt on, Dil placed his Star of David and crucifix necklaces in his pocket, since he was certain that they would hit him in the face, while he tried to move around on stage.

"Well now," Dil began, after he grabbed his microphone, "I wonder what the chances are of my name being on _Blabbermouth_ tomorrow? Hopefully, the headline will be, 'Dil Pickles jumps off the stage, due to some asshole interfering with him trying to sing'."

The crowd laughed.

"I'll never understand why some people spend money on a ticket, and then do something stupid to get themselves kicked out of an arena—it's just a waste of damn money!"

The crowd's response showed that they agreed.

"Of course," continued Dil, "this person might be the son of a Japanese billionaire and doesn't care. Don't worry, asshole, daddy will help you next week with your allowance!"

Again, the crowd laughed.

And Dil chuckled. "I suppose now that we could begin with a new song."

The crowd did not seem to prefer that idea.

"Or we could begin one more time with 'The Last Supper'?"

But the crowd did seem to enjoy Dil's second idea.

Dil smiled. "Well, since today is the actual day of The Last Supper, according to the Church calendar, it's only appropriate that we play 'The Last Supper', so let's begin again!"

Once again, the crowd cheered, as Dark Stairway played Grave Digger's 'The Last Supper' from the beginning.

* * *

For their final song of the evening, Dark Stairway played their trademark, 'Dark Stairway'. Once the song concluded, Dil informed the crowd, "Thank you very much, Tokyo! Despite the setback, it has been wonderful playing for you tonight. Get ready for the Iron…Maiden!"

Dark Stairway left the stage to cheers for Iron Maiden. But as Dark Stairway stepped behind the curtain, they were met by Rod Smallwood, Iron Maiden's manager. Smallwood's focus, however, seemed to on one member of the band—Dil Pickles.

"Excuse me, kid," Smallwood began in his distinctly English accent, "but what the hell was that? Who are you trying to be? Axl Rose?"

Dil grinned. "No, if I wanted to be Axl Rose, I would have complained about the lack of security, thrown my mic down, and left the stage. Dylan Pickles, on the other hand, is a little more professional than that."

Rod Smallwood smiled. "You realize Iron Maiden's going to start a little more later than normal, because of that."

"I do apologize for that."

Again, Smallwood smiled. "We had it under control. You didn't need to leap off the stage. Perhaps that guy couldn't understand English very well?"

"Bullshit, Mr. Smallwood, the people in Japan probably speak better English, than the people in America. Besides, if he couldn't understand English, what would he be doing listening to music that's all in English?"

Smallwood maintained his smile. "Perhaps he just wanted your attention?"

"Well, he got it, didn't he?"

An individual's laughter joined the conversation. The members of Dark Stairway and Rod Smallwood turned to see Iron Maiden's frontman, Bruce Dickinson. "A great rock 'n' roll moment, kid," Bruce Dickinson said with a focus on Dil. "Sorry that you got your robe torn in the process. You seem to be quite fond of wearing one."

Dil blushed. Bruce Dickinson was one of his favorite singers growing up. Dil would refer to Bruce Dickinson as the 'Mighty Bruce', and here he was speaking to him. "Yeah, it creates a unique aura on stage."

Bruce chuckled. "While you guys were performing, I talked to the other members of Iron Maiden. You've inspired us to do something a little different tonight."

"What's that?"

Bruce smiled. "You'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

When the members of Iron Maiden took the stage, the members of Dark Stairway watched behind the curtain. When the tour with Iron Maiden began, the members of Dark Stairway would watch Iron Maiden from behind the curtain. But for some shows, the members of Dark Stairway would sneak into the audience, after Dil removed his robe. Yet as the tour continued on, the members of Dark Stairway often found themselves drinking beer with members of the stage crew, before they would leave the arena to either visit a nightclub, or to return to their hotel rooms. However, on this night, the last night of the tour, Dickinson's statement intrigued them. Near the curtain, Dil turned to Chris and said, "I wonder what we did to inspire Iron Maiden?"

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," responded Chris.

Eventually the answer came. Iron Maiden had just finished playing 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner', when Bruce Dickinson addressed the crowd. "Everyone, this is a band that has been playing for a good number of years. Based on the faces in the crowd, we were probably playing here in Tokyo before a good number of you were born. But I am happy to report that despite all the years we've been playing live shows, we can still become inspired. We were inspired, in fact, by the young band that played before us. That band, of course, is the band from America called Dark Stairway."

Bruce paused, as the fans in Tokyo began to cheer.

"Yes, let's hear it for those young men—scream for them!"

The audience roared.

And Bruce Dickinson smiled. "Yes. Anyway, their lead singer, Dil Pickles, talked about those who inspired them, and that they have no problem playing the songs that inspired them. I am glad that they mentioned Iron Maiden as one of the bands that inspired them, but there were plenty of bands that inspired us as well. Therefore, I thought that we'd do a little bit of what Dark Stairway did."

The crowd cheered.

"Now then, I'm sure that some of you may be aware that long ago a band called Deep Purple released an album called _Made in Japan_."

Again, the crowd cheered.

"Well, there was a song that we covered not too long ago that was on that album. To give you a slight hint about this song, it was originally on a Purple album called _Machine Head_."

Once Bruce Dickinson completed his announcement, Iron Maiden performed a cover of Deep Purple's 'Space Truckin'. Behind the curtain, the members of Dark Stairway were stunned.

"That is absolutely awesome!" said a stunned James.

"Hell, yeah!" said Andrew. "We got mentioned by Bruce Dickinson!"

"Yeah, and Dil got mentioned by name," added Johnny.

"Perhaps for our next album we could cover Purple's 'Space Truckin'?" suggested Chris.

"Na, that would be stealing the heat from Iron Maiden," replied James. "Now 'Burn' might be a good Purple song to cover—especially by someone who has Dil's lungs."

However, one member of Dark Stairway paid little, if any, attention to the conversation taking place with the other members of the band. Dil Pickles appeared to be lost in his own world, as he watched Iron Maiden perform.

"Dil," Johnny began, "isn't that awesome? You got mentioned by Iron Maiden."

"Huh?" responded Dil, as though he was coming out of a trance. "Oh, yeah, absolutely!" he added with a smile.

The members of Dark Stairway laughed.

"He got caught up in the moment and didn't know what was going on," said James.

"That or he was talking to Dio on the Silver Mountain," added Johnny.

The members of Dark Stairway chuckled.

But through his chuckles, Andrew, Dil's best friend in the band thought, _"Dil needed that. He really did. Perhaps it will help him."_ Verbally, however, Andrew said, "Hey, guys, I just thought of something."

"What's that?" asked James.

"I met a couple of these Japanese girls last night at a bar. They told me that they'd be around tomorrow with some friends. I say that we go and see them, after Iron Maiden finishes playing."

"I'm down with that," said James.

"Same here," added Chris.

"I might make my way there later," said Johnny. "I told Angelica that I'd text her after the show, since it's nearly morning in California."

Andrew nodded. "What about you, Dil?"

Dil sighed. "I don't think so, guys. I think I'm just going to head back to the hotel. Besides we have our flight home tomorrow."

James and Chris were stunned by Dil's response. This was not a typical 'Dil Pickles behavior'. Andrew and Johnny were stunned as well, but not so much. Dil's personality had changed in some respects for the better, but in other respects for the worst.

"I don't get it," began James. "Why don't you want to go out?"

"Yeah," added Chris. "Our flight home isn't until three in the afternoon."

"I'm aware of that. I just have some things I want to do, before we get on that plane, and I'd rather be sober, when I did them."

Andrew smiled. "That's all right, Dil. Why don't we all meet up at The Friendly Tap, when we get home?"

Dil returned the smile. "For sure."

But in his thoughts, Andrew added, _"It's still bothering him."_

* * *

Around one in the morning, Dil called his parents from his hotel room. "Hello?" answered Didi.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Dil! Where are you at right now?"

"I'm in Tokyo, Japan. Just curious, what time is it in America?"

"Well, it's shortly after eight in the morning."

"Friday morning?"

"No, it's Thursday."

Dil chuckled.

"What? What is it?"

"It's Friday morning here in Tokyo. I was told that when I fly back to America later on today that I'll lose a day."

"That's probably true. I assume you're flying over the International Date Line?"

"That's what I've been told. We're leaving Japan around three this afternoon, and then we'll change planes in Hawaii, before we make the rest of the flight to LA."

"Will you continue for home then?"

"Not yet. Tommy's going to pick me up at the airport, and then I'm going to spend the evening with him and Kimi. The next day all of us are flying home—Chuckie's going to meet us."

"Well, good."

"Is Blaer with you, Mom?"

"No, she isn't. She's with the Pangborns."

"I see."

"If you want, I can call Ann, and have Blaer here, when you arrive?"

"No, that's all right. I'll pick her up from the Pangborns, when I return home."

"Okay, Dil."

"Thank you though, Mom."

"You're welcome, Dil, but try to get some rest, dear."

Dil smirked. "Sure, Mom, I'm sure it will help with the jet lag."

Didi laughed. "Take care, Dil."

"Thanks, Mom, you too."

Once the telephone call with his mother ended, Dil relaxed against a pillow, and took out his wallet. Dil browsed through his pictures, but one caught his attention. The picture showed him and Dezirae. But in front of them was a little girl, who looked to be about eight months old. The girl had strawberry blonde hair with the eyes and smile similar to Dezirae, and a nose and chin similar to Dil.

"Blaer, my baby girl" Dil said, while he motioned a finger over the little girl's face. "Dezirae," he added, as he motioned the same finger over her face. "I do love you."


	2. Back in America

**Author's Note**: Greetings, everyone! This chapter was originally going to be longer than what I made it out to be. However, I decided to do some editing here and there. Essentially, we learn a little more about Dil's personal history in the two-plus years, since the curtain came down on _Always Somewhere_. As always, I enjoy your feedback and your comments.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter II**

The airplane that carried the members of Dark Stairway landed in Los Angles, California at 2:30 in the afternoon on Friday. Dil Pickles, who as a boy had loved aliens, had just engaged in the closest event that humans could create to time traveling. At the airport, Dil said goodbye to his bandmates, who were going to make the rest of the journey home without him, while he was picked up by his older brother, Tommy.

* * *

Inside Tommy Pickles's apartment, Tommy and Kimi relaxed on Tommy's couch in the master room drinking sodas, while Dil relaxed in Tommy's office. Dil, dressed in a Dio shirt with the artwork from the _Sacred Heart_ album, called the Pangborns to inform them that he was back in California, and would pick up Blaer from their house tomorrow. After his finished his call to the Pangborn residence, Dil used Tommy's computer to browse through the headlines on _Blabbermouth_. Dil wondered if one of the Japanese fans in attendance had sent _Blabbermouth_ information about his actions in Tokyo. As Dil browsed through the headlines, his Pandora channel shuffled songs from his various stations. Some of the songs caught Dil's attention. One was Judas Priest's 'Lost Love'. "I don't feel like listening to that song right now," Dil said, before he clicked the skip button. 'Lost Love', however, was followed by Black Sabbath's 'Lonely is the World'. "Same with this one," said Dil, as he clicked the skip button. 'Lonely is the World', however, was followed by Grave Digger's 'Yesterday'. "Great song, but I just don't feel like listening to it right now," Dil said, before he once again clicked the skip button. 'Yesterday' was followed by Iced Earth's 'Prophecy'. "Finally!" Dil said with a smile.

* * *

"So," Kimi began, while she took a sip of her Pepsi, "where are your brother and I going to be venturing to tonight?"

"I thought we'd go to the Rainbow," Tommy replied, before he took a drink of his Diet Dr. Pepper. "You know the bar and grill?"

Kimi nodded. "Yeah, the place on Sunset Strip. John Belushi supposedly ate his last meal there, didn't he?."

Tommy nodded. "That's correct. Anyway, one of the bands that Dil likes was apparently named after that place."

"The band 'Rainbow', I take it?" Kimi asked, before she took a drink.

Again, Tommy nodded. "I stopped in there once after work to have a drink, and I made a comment about the image of Dio that they had in the restaurant. That's when the bartender told me that Dio and Ritchie Blackmore decided to name their band 'Rainbow', while they were drinking in the bar."

"Speaking of Dio," began Kimi, "did you guys visit his grave, after you left the airport?"

Tommy took a drink. "No."

"Really?!"

Tommy nodded. "Yeah."

Kimi turned to the floor, before she returned to Tommy. "That seems odd. Dil almost always wants to visit Dio's grave, when he comes out here."

Tommy took another drink. "He never asked me, and I never brought the idea up to him."

Kimi smirked. "He's acting out of character."

"He's changed. I think having a daughter, and…"

Tommy's sentence ended, when Dil entered the room. "Tommy, you're not on _Blabbermouth_."

"_Blabbermouth_? Isn't that the heavy metal website?"

Dil nodded.

"Why would I be there? I'm not associated with heavy metal, other than having a brother who plays that music."

"I mentioned your name, while I was on stage last night in Tokyo."

"What did you say?"

"I mentioned how somebody's older brother decided to leave this song off the score to a movie, and then we played 'Nicky and Alix'."

Tommy laughed. "I'm sure we'll have a soundtrack to the movie, and I'll suggest adding the track." Tommy took a drink. "Any new viewership would be great."

"The movie wasn't as good as you thought?"

Tommy shook his head. "No, the movie was fine in terms of production, story, acting, and all of that. What it wasn't as good at was making the money that I thought it would make. Don't get me wrong, it made a profit—just not as big of a profit as it was really capable of making."

"How come?"

Before Tommy could answer the question, Kimi interjected herself into the conversation. "How rude of us, Tommy. We didn't offer Dil anything to drink. Would you like something, Dil? Water? Beer? Pop?"

"I'll have what Tommy's having," replied Dil.

Kimi left the master room for the kitchen, and returned with a Diet Dr. Pepper. She handed the bottle to Dil.

Dil, as he opened the bottle, re-asked his question. "What happened with _Nicholas and Alexandra_?"

"The film premiered at the same time as one of _The Hobbit _films. That really, really hurt ticket sales. We still made a profit through ticket, DVD, and Blu-ray sales, but it certainly could have been better."

Dil took a drink of his soda. "Were your bosses upset at you?"

"Not at all—the film still made a profit."

Dil nodded.

"Oh! There's something I forgot to ask you, when I picked you up at the airport earlier."

"What's that?"

"Is Blaer at Mom and Dad's, or is she at the Pangborns?"

"She's at the Pangborns. I called Ann Pangborn not too long ago to inform her that I'd get Blaer sometime tomorrow afternoon."

"She's such a gorgeous little girl," said Kimi.

Dil smiled. "Yes. Yes, she is."

"I must agree," said Tommy. "My niece is a very pretty girl. I am curious, what is your relationship like with the Pangborns?"

"Just fine—why do you ask?"

"I was just curious. I mean, ever since Dezirae left you and all…"

"Dezirae didn't leave me, Tommy; she died," Dil said short and to the point.

"Okay, okay," Tommy said, while he gestured for Dil not to get upset. "That was a poor choice of words. I apologize."

"That's okay," Dil said.

Kimi, however, noticed that Dil's lower lip started to quiver.

But Dil regained his composure and said, "I know that you weren't trying to hurt me, but it bothers me sometimes to think about it."

Tommy nodded. "I understand, Dil."

"Hey," Kimi began, as she tried to change the subject, "maybe now is a good time to head out."

"Head out?" said Dil.

"Yeah," Tommy said. "I thought we'd all go out to the Rainbow: Bar and Grill. You like that place, don't you?"

Dil smiled. "Yeah, that's the place Rainbow is named after. I haven't been there in a while. I would sometimes stop in the place, after we played some gigs in LA. They have a really cool portrait of Dio in the restaurant. Oh, wow!"

"What is it, Dil?" asked Tommy.

"I never bothered to take my pilgrimage to Dio's gave. I always do that, when I'm out here. I've got some songs to play for him."

Tommy laughed. _"Thank God the old Dil is back,"_ he thought though his laughter. Verbally, however, Tommy said, "I'll tell you what; we'll get up early tomorrow, and visit the grave, before our flight home."

"That works; I'll probably go to bed early tonight anyway."

"No partying?"

"Not when you've had the time travel experiment that I had today."

Tommy laughed.

"Dil," began Kimi, "I wanted to ask you, what you thought of my homeland?"

"Japan? It was great—except for the guy with the laser pointer in Tokyo. I hated that son of a bitch."

Again, Tommy laughed. Dil told him about this incident, when he arrived at the airport.

"If Tommy's name isn't mentioned on _Blabbermouth_," continued Dil, "that certainly will be. Assuming somebody recorded it on their cellphone, which somebody probably did."

Tommy chuckled.

Kimi, however, was confused. "What are you talking about?"

Once again, Tommy laughed. "Why don't we talk about it at the Rainbow? Come now, let's have some drinks!"

* * *

The following day was Holy Saturday or Easter Eve. Dil was up at seven in the morning, which was extremely early for him. For Tommy, seven in the morning was later than normal, which he enjoyed.

An hour later, the two brothers were at Ronnie James Dio's gravesite, and Dil played the songs 'Eternity' and 'Nicky and Alix'. "And, Dio," Dil began, after 'Nicky and Alix' concluded, "you need to convince Tommy to put that song on his _Nicholas and Alexandra_ soundtrack."

_ "Sorry, Dil,"_ Tommy thought with a smirk, _"Dio's not going to convince me of anything. He's dead."_

"I know that Tommy doesn't think you can communicate with him," continued Dil, "but what Tommy doesn't understand is that you have the ability to leave the Silver Mountain, and make your presence known in the material world."

_ "Glad to see my former brother back,"_ Tommy thought through his chuckles.

An hour later, Tommy, Dil, and Kimi were at the airport for their 11:00am flight to their hometown. Their flight was a short one—only forty minutes. When their airplane landed, they were met at the airport by Chuckie, who drove them to their respected residences—Kimi's apartment and Dil's home.

* * *

With the money he had made from Dark Stairway's first album, Dil purchased a modest home. The interior of Dil's home was similar to his apartment—particularly his master room. However, there were a few other rooms in the home that reflected the touch of Dezirae—particularly Blaer's nursery. Blaer Pickles's nursery is what one might expect with a crib and a place for changing diapers, which Dil often struggles at doing. In the nursery was the image of a Glow Worm, which had been Dezirae's, when she was a little girl. Dil, of course, had to add a touch of his own influence in the nursery as well. Above Blaer's crib was an image of Ronnie James Dio and Ritchie Blackmore together. When Dil often sat in the rocking chair next to the crib holding Blaer, he would point at the image and inform his daughter, 'Those are two people you can strive to be.' Once Dil unpacked his luggage, he left his home for his car. Dil's destination was the Pangborn residence.

While Dil may have informed Tommy that his relationship with the Pangborns was perfectly fine, he was not being completely honest. Ever since Dezirae's passing, Dil often felt uncomfortable visiting them. The Pangborns had never spoken ill of him, but Dil often wondered if they, particularly Mr. Pangborn, considered him to be a good husband for Dezirae in the first place—the two were rushed into marriage—which in turn made him wonder, if they slightly blamed him for Dezirae's death—even though he had nothing to do with it.

When Dil arrived at the residence, he was greeted by Ann Pangborn. "Hi, Dil, did you just get home?"

Dil nodded. "Probably about an hour ago, actually."

"Well, please come in."

Dil entered, but as he did so, a photograph caught his attention. Next to the photographs of the Pangborn twins, Angel and Christopher, was a photograph of Dil and Dezirae around the time of their engagement. _"I guess they can't hate me that much, if they have a picture on the wall with me in it,"_ thought Dil.

"Blaer's in the living room with her grandfather," added Ann Pangborn.

"Thanks," said Dil.

The scene Dil saw in the master room made him smile. Estes Pangborn, or 'Pangborn', as Dil would still call him, was on all fours, as though he was a dog or a horse. On Pangborn's back was his 18 month old granddaughter, Blaer Trixie Pickles. Blaer wore a lavender dress, which was one of the last purchases Dezirae ever made for her daughter. In Blaer's strawberry blonde hair was a blue bow.

"Hey, there, baby girl!" Dil said with a smile.

When Pangborn and Blaer heard Dil's voice, they stopped playing. Blaer's face brightened, when she noticed her father. Blaer left her grandfather, and toddled over to her father. "Daddy!" she exclaimed.

Dil scooped up his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and kissed her cheek. "How are you doing, my little strawberry-haired girl?" Dil, however, did not give his daughter a chance to respond. He tickled her.

"So, when did you arrive home?" Pangborn asked, as he returned to his feet.

"Shortly before noon. Chuckie picked us up at the airport."

"How is Finster?"

"Pretty good, still doing his teaching thing. Occasionally, if I'm at Java Lava with Blaer, and he's there with his son, Kirk, the two will play together—although Kirk, because he's bigger, can be a little bit rougher."

Pangborn nodded. "What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Well, I'm going to take Blaer home for a minute, and then I thought that we would visit my mom and dad."

Again, Pangborn nodded. "Send them my love."

Dil returned the nod. "Will do."

"Oh, before you go, her grandmother and I have something to give her."

"What's that?"

"Easter candy, but…"

"Candy!" interjected Blaer.

Pangborn laughed. "Yes, Blaer, candy, and if your dad doesn't mind, I will give you a piece."

"No, I don't mind," said Dil.

"Good," said Pangborn. "The rest of the candy, we'll put in a bag. It would be more traditional to give her that candy on Easter morning."

"Yes, that sounds easy enough."

"Would you mind, if I carried my granddaughter into the kitchen to give her the candy?"

"Oh, course not," replied Dil, as he handed Pangborn his granddaughter.

Pangborn smiled. "You're the best gift Dezirae gave us."

Dil, however, did his best not to get emotional on that statement.

* * *

A little over half an hour later, Dil arrived at his childhood home with his daughter. Blaer, however, was dressed differently than she was, when she left her maternal grandparents. At their brief stop at home, Dil had to reluctantly change Blaer's diaper, but after he did so, he decided to change her style of dress. Dil removed the lavender dress and the bow from her hair. In their place, Dil dressed his daughter in a toddler size 'Rock & Roll Children' Dio shirt and jean shorts. When he finished, Dil informed his daughter that she looked like his 'little headbanger'.

As Dil entered his childhood home, he was greeted by his mother. "Hi, Dil. Hi, Blaer!" said Didi.

"Gwandma!" said Blair.

Didi laughed.

And Dil smiled, as he handed his daughter to her paternal grandmother. "I just picked her up from the Pangborns. I thought I'd bring her here for a bit. I was wondering, if you wouldn't mind watching her for a bit?"

"No, of course not—ouch!" Didi's 'ouch' was in response to Blaer tugging on her hair.

"Blaer, stop that!" said Dil.

Didi smirked. "She got that from somebody, you know?"

"Who?"

"You. You used to do the same thing, when you were little."

Dil smirked. "Now I just hope she got my good qualities."

Didi placed Blaer on the floor and said, "I'm sure she did. Anyway, of course, we…"

"Hey there, little Blaer!" came an outside voice.

Dil and Didi turned to the voice.

But Blaer had already recognized it, when she said, "Gwandpa!"

Stu scooped Blaer up, gave her a kiss, and returned her to the floor.

Dil smiled. "Hi, Dad."

"Hey, Dil. I hope you enjoyed your trip back from Japan."

Dil maintained his smile. "Yes, it was the first time I actually engaged in time traveling."

Stu laughed. "You didn't get jet lag, did you?"

"No, I mentally told myself that I was going to lose a day, when I arrived in LA…damn that rhymed. Maybe I'll have to use that for a lyric."

Again, Stu laughed. "Well, I've got a new invention that I'm working on in the shop, so I'd better get back to it."

"Take care, Dad."

After Stu left the room, Didi return to the previous conversation she was having with her son. "As I was saying earlier, of course, we don't mind watching Blaer, but where is it that you're going, Dil?"

"Just around town—I just want to clear my head for a little bit."

"Okay, well, I guess we'll see you, when you get back."

"Thanks, Mom."

After Dil addressed his mother, he turned to his daughter. Blaer Pickles entertained herself with some of her father's and her uncle's former toys. Dil knelt, kissed his daughter on the cheek, and said, "Be a good girl for Grandma Didi and Grandpa Stu, until I get back."

Blaer gave her father a look. A look that seemed to imply that she was 'always a good girl'. The look, however, reminded Dil of Dezirae.

_"I do miss your mother,"_ thought Dil.


	3. Fragments of Memories

**Author's Note**: Greetings, everyone! Well, for those of you who are curious as to what happened to Dezirae, this is the chapter that will provide some background information by revealing a number of past scenes. With that being said, I ask all of you to read and provide critical feedback.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter III**

After Dil left his parents' residence, he drove his car to the town square. Dil parked his car, and began to walk passed the various buildings off the square. The sidewalks were for the most part empty. Many people were preparing for Easter; plus, it was still fairly early in the day. Dil had seen these buildings numerous times, but one caught his attention—The Nightlife. "Fate's a strange thing," said Dil, as he leaned against a lamp post. "I intended that night to be nothing more than for a night for the whole gang to watch me perform. The date will stay with me forever though—October 26, 2012. I had no idea that love was going to walk in on me that night."

_Dil closed his eyes and the memories returned to him. Dark Stairway had just finished their first set, and he was drinking a beer at the bar with Jack—one of Pilot's executives. Those first words came after Jack left. Dil intended to visit his childhood friends, when a voice stopped him. The voice asked him, 'Why are you wearing a robe?' And Dil turned to reveal his first encounter with Dezirae._

Dil's memory ended, when he heard a voice say, "Holy shit, that's Dil Pickles!"

Dil opened his eyes, and followed the voice. Dil noticed a group of teenagers with long hair and beaming smiles. These smiles were similar to the one Dil had, when he first met the members of Iron Maiden. One of the young men was wearing a Dark Stairway t-shirt.

Dil returned the smile. He always tried to be cordial with his fans, because they were the reason for his success. "Hey there, kids."

"Hey, Dil," began the teenager with the Dark Stairway shirt, "would it be all, if we got some pictures together?"

Dil maintained his smile. "Why sure."

Dil allowed himself to be photographed by each of the young men on their cellphone cameras. After the photographs were taken, the man with the Dark Stairway t-shirt asked, "Any idea when we're going to hear another Dark Stairway album?"

Dil chuckled. "Well, that's a funny question, since it doesn't seem like it's been too long ago, since the last album. But I would say within a year or so, you should see a new album."

"Cool! Thanks, Dil!" the young man said, as he shook Dil's hand.

Once the teenagers left, Dil turned to the sky and sighed. "You know, fame truly means nothing, if you're sad."

* * *

Dil left the town square, and drove to his former apartment complex. When Dil arrived, he picked up another memory. The memory took place shortly after the clock changed to the year 2014 in Dil's former apartment.

"_Hey, babe," began Dil, before he kissed Dezirae on the forehead, "are you feeling a little better now?"_

"_I am," Dezirae said with a smile, "but I did something today."_

"_And what was that?"_

"_Well, this might shock you…"_

"_I'm the 'Heavy Metal King David', Dezirae; nothing shocks me."_

_Dezirae giggled. "Well then, let's put that to the test."_

_Dil nodded. "Okay?"_

"_You know how I started to feel ill shortly after Christmas?"_

_Again, Dil nodded. "Yeah, a stomach bug was going around the area. I told you to wash your hands."_

_Dezirae giggled. "Yes, and I did so, Mr. 'Heavy Metal King David'."_

_Dil gave her a look. "If you did so, then you wouldn't have gotten ill."_

_Dezirae returned the look. "I wasn't sick, Dil."_

_Dil was stunned. "You weren't?"_

_Dezirae smiled. "No silly, I wasn't. I'm pregnant, Dil."_

_Dil gasped._

_Dezirae maintained her smile. "I took one of those home pregnancy tests, and it came back positive. We're going to have a baby, Dil."_

_Dil could not believe Dezirae's revelation. "Duh, duh, Dio—fuck!"_

_Dezirae laughed. "Oh, that's my Dil! He gets scared, and he mentions Dio. Or are you just having a conversation with him?"_

_Dil smirked. "No, I wasn't having a conversation with him—but I'm sure we'll talk later—I just had a 'Freudian slip'. You shocked me, Dezirae."_

_Dezirae smiled. "And you said that I couldn't shock the 'Heavy Metal King David'."_

_Dil returned the smile. "Would you come here, Dezirae?"_

_Dezirae approached Dil._

_Dil hugged Dezirae, and kissed her. "If we're going to have a baby, then we need to be together."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Would you marry me, Dezirae?"_

"_Dil?!" replied a stunned Dezirae._

"_Well?" Dil asked with a smile._

"_Yes, of course!"_

"Hey, Dil!"

The voice quickly ended Dil's memory. Dil turned to the voice to see an individual that he knew quite well—his former neighbor, Adam. "Hey, Adam."

"What are you doing here?"

"Just taking a stroll down memory lane, you could say."

Adam smiled. "Care to drink a beer?"

Dil returned the smile. "Yeah, sure."

Adam entered his apartment, and returned with a pair of Bud Lights. He handed one to Dil. The two drank and discussed past memories. Dil, however, drank quicker than Adam.

"Would you like another one, Dil?"

"No, thanks. I think that I'm going to head out of here in a minute."

"Okay, sounds good. Say, Dil?"

"Yeah?"

"I happened to hear about what happened to Dezirae. I'm really sorry. I understand that the two of you had a baby?"

Dil nodded. "Yeah, a daughter."

"Does she have any memories of her?"

Dil paused. "She was just passed her first birthday, when it happened, so I don't think so. After it happened, she did briefly cry out for Dezirae, and either I, or her grandparents, came to comfort her. She eventually quit crying. I just don't know. In many respects, it would be wrong for me to say that she simply forgot about her mother."

Adam nodded. "I understand, Dil. I didn't mean to bring up any harsh memories."

Dil returned the nod. "I understand, Adam, and thanks for the beer. I'm going to head out now."

"Well, Dil, don't be a stranger—take care."

* * *

Dil returned to his car and drove to another destination—Christ Episcopal Church. In this church, he and Dezirae were married, and it was where their daughter was baptized.

Dezirae had been brought up as a Catholic, but she had never been very active. The same was slightly true for Dil. Dil's maternal side was Jewish, but his paternal side was Scottish Catholic. Dil was circumcised, as is traditional for Jewish boys, and he would observe traditional Jewish holidays with his maternal side of the family, but he was also baptized as a Christian. Dil attended Christmas and Easter masses with Tommy and his paternal side of the family, but he grew to dislike some of the Catholic teachings as he got older, and would often identify himself as an Anglican/Episcopalian. Dezirae wanted a church wedding, and Dil was able to secure an Episcopal priest, who would marry them.

Dil entered the church, which in a few hours would probably be filled to capacity. Memories of that day, nearly two years ago, were brought back by Dil observing his wedding ring. Dil could re-call his family and friends, and Dezirae's family and friends, in the church. Dil could re-call how Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and his bandmates served as groomsmen. Johnny's daughter, Austra, and Dezirae's half-sister, Angel, served as flower girls. Angelica's son, Ian, and Dezirae's half-brother, Christopher, served as ring bearers.

"Mr. Pickles?" said a voice.

Dil turned. The voice belonged to Father John—the rector of Christ Episcopal Church, and the man who married Dil and Dezirae. "Hello, Father."

"You seem to be a bit early for mass, Dil."

"Well, Father, I didn't actually come here for mass. I just wanted to clear my head, so I came inside the church."

The priest nodded. "Well, this is the perfect place for you to do just that."

Dil smiled, but it was a forced smile.

"I'm sure it's been rough on you, Mr. Pickles—losing your wife and all. But please know that Our Lord is always here to comfort you. Don't be afraid to call on him."

Dil, as a Religious Studies major, had heard these statements before, and the arguments that would be given for theodicy. In response, he decided to simply nod. Personally, however, he wished that the priest would go away.

"Well," began Father John, "I need to make sure that everything is ready to go for Holy Saturday mass. Take care, Mr. Pickles, and thanks for visiting."

"Thank you, Father," said Dil.

* * *

Once again, Dil got in his car. As he drove, more memories returned to him. This time, Dil remembered a memory shortly after he moved into his present home with Dezirae, who was five months pregnant at the time.

"_Any ideas for a name?" asked Dezirae._

"_You mean, if it's a boy or a girl?" replied Dil._

"_Well, yeah, it's usually one of those two choices."_

_Dil chuckled. "Okay, well, if it's a boy, how about 'Dio Richard Pickles'?"_

"_Come on, Dil!"_

_Dil laughed. "Okay, how about 'Bruce Ian Pickles'?_

_Dezirae smirked. "Well, here's a boy's name that has only one rock star in it—'Dylan Estes Pickles', a combination of his father's and grandfather's names. But if it's a boy, he's going by 'Dylan' not 'Dil'."_

_Dil paused. "Maybe I should try a girl's name?"_

_Dezirae smiled. "Well, maybe you should."_

"_How about…'Blaer Trixie Pickles'?"_

_Dezirae paused. "Where did you get that name from?"_

"_I saw the name 'Blaer' about some girl in Iceland a few years ago. In Icelandic it means 'light breeze', which I think is pretty cool."_

_Dezirae smiled. "Yeah, that is pretty cool, but what about the name 'Trixie'?"_

"_That's my paternal grandmother's name. I never knew her. She was dead, before I was born. But I like the name. Ironically, I've been told that if I was born a girl, Trixie would have been my name."_

_Dezirae maintained her smile. "You know, some people think that we're going to have a girl."_

"_What makes them think so?"_

"_They look at my stomach and say, 'You're going to have a girl.'"_

_Dil smirked. "We'll see how accurate they are in four months."_

* * *

Dil drove through the gates of Resurrection Cemetery, when another memory returned to him. This memory took place in November 2015—a little after Blaer's first birthday.

"_Show Daddy the dress that I bought you, Blaer," said Dezirae._

_In response, Blaer modeled, or actually toddled, in her lavender dress._

_Dil smiled. "She's so beautiful."_

_Dezirae returned the smile. "You know it! She has got to model those dresses sometimes. She can't always wear those rock shirts that you buy her."_

_Dil maintained his smile. "That sounds like either my mom or Angelica."_

_Dezirae laughed. "I guess that comes from over a year's experience of being a mom. Speaking of your mom, I'm going to take Blaer over to see her and your dad today."_

"_You're going to drop her off for a while?"_

_Dezirae nodded. "Yes, I need to go to the mall briefly."_

"_By 'briefly', you mean 'two hours'," Dil said with a smirk._

"_Oh, come on—I do not!"_

_Dil maintained his smirk. "I know how you shop."_

_Dezirae grinned. "Okay, so maybe that's slightly true."_

"_No 'slightly' about it," Dil said with a chuckle._

_Dezirae smirked. "But your mom encourages it. She said that I 'need some time to myself'. That's why she'll watch Blaer."_

_Dil nodded. "Well, that sounds good."_

_Dezirae smiled. "I take it that you're about done with the new album?"_

_Again, Dil nodded. "Yeah, we finished the original pieces. Now we just have to finish the cover."_

"_Which is what?"_

"_The Scorpions' 'We'll Burn the Sky'."_

"_You played that once for me, didn't you?"_

"_Sure did. I remember that we performed it that one night in front of your dad. It was on that night that Phil and Rachel hooked up together."_

"_I remember that now!"_

_Dil smiled, and embraced Dezirae. In her ear, Dil quietly sang the lyrics, "'And when it's time, time to die, we'll burn the sky.'"_

* * *

Dil exited his car to another memory. This one on the same day as the previous memory, but at a later time.

_Dil's cellphone rang, but the number on his Caller ID was extremely odd. "Restricted number? I wonder what in the world that means." Regardless, Dil took the call. "Hello?"_

"_Mr. Pickles?"_

_"Yes?"_

"_This is Lieutenant Moore of the California State Highway Patrol. Just to confirm, Mr. Pickles, are you the husband of Dezirae Pickles?"_

"_Yes, I am. Is something wrong?"_

_The officer sighed. "Yes, Mr. Pickles, there is. Your wife was in a car accident. She has been transported to St. Luke's hospital."_

"_Oh, my God! Was my daughter with her?"_

"_No, Mr. Pickles, just her."_

"_Is she all right?"_

"_I'm afraid that I can't answer that question for you, sir."_

_Dil rushed to the hospital. Dezirae was in the intensive care unit, and Dil was not allowed to see her. But Dil waited. He prayed in the hospital chapel. When Dil returned, the doctors informed him that Dezirae was hemorrhaging, and that she needed to rest. Dil asked, if he could see her. The doctors said 'yes', but they requested that Dil be brief, because the more energy she used, the more she would bleed, and they needed to try and stop the flow of blood._

_When Dil entered the intensive care unit, Dezirae was pale. She had obviously lost quite a bit of blood. Dil did his best not to cry. He held Dezirae's hand with the hope that she would lightly squeeze his own. "Hey, Dezirae," Dil whispered. "It's Dil. We just finished the album. It sounds great."_

_Dezirae did not respond._

"_Don't worry about Blaer, okay? She's with my mom and dad. I told them what's going on. She's going to spend the night with them. I called your parents as well. They'll be coming shortly."_

_Again, Dezirae did not respond._

"_Well, babe," Dil began, while his voice became hoarse, "I should leave you now. The doctors told me that you need to rest. But I'll make sure to come by and see you tomorrow, as soon as I can."_

_Once again, Dezirae did not respond._

"_Well, bye, Dezirae," Dil said. Dil kissed Dezirae on the forehead with tears in his eyes. Many of those tears descended on Dezirae's forehead._

_This meeting between Dil and Dezirae was their last among the world of the living. Around two o'clock in the morning, Dil received a call from the hospital that informed him that Dezirae had passed away due to internal bleeding._

* * *

When Dil approached the grave, his lip quivered. The Pickles and the Pangborns jointly helped purchase a headstone. The front of the headstone read 'Dezirae Raia Pickles: October 26, 1991-November 16, 2015'. The back of the headstone read 'A Loving Wife and Mother'.

"When I was with you, Dezirae," began Dil, "we were in the Garden of Eden. But with you gone, I feel as though I'm outside of the Garden."

Tears formed in Dil's eyes. He knelt and kissed the headstone, which left some of his tears on it. After he did so, Dil left the cemetery.

* * *

The time was 7:30 in the evening. Dil was back at his parents' residence. He relaxed in the tree-house that he and the gang had built in their youth. Dil's father, brother, and Kimi had gone to Holy Saturday mass. Dil refused to attend, but when Stu asked, if Blaer could come with him, Dil agreed.

On his iPod, Dil listened to a live version of 'We'll Burn the Sky'. The sun was beginning to set, and the sky glowed like fire. As Dil observed the sunset, he whispered, "'And when it's time, time to die, we'll burn the sky.'"


	4. Theodicy

**Author's Note**: Greetings, everyone! This chapter will certainly be the shortest that I have written so far. I actually thought about writing more, but then I wondered if it would be too long for what I really needed to get across. This chapter will feature some 'religious philosophy', since Dil is trained in that, and it might be a bit touchy for some readers. As always, please feel free to read and review.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter IV**

Easter Sunday 2016 was the 25th Easter that Dil had celebrated. For his daughter, Blaer, it would be her second Easter celebration. On this Easter Sunday morning, Dil was up at 7:30. Or perhaps, it should be said that since Blaer was up at 7:30, Dil had to follow. Dil changed and dressed his daughter in a bright yellow dress. He attempted to place a white bow in Blaer's hair but was unsuccessful. When it came to dressing his daughter 'like a girl', Dil was not very successful. But for this day, Dil was going to try. Part of the reason was to appease his mother. Last night, Didi insisted that Blaer not wear the clothes that Dil had dressed her in, when he dropped her off at his parents' home. Stu and Didi always kept some clothes around for their granddaughter, when she stayed with them, and Didi dressed Blaer in a white dress and yellow bow for church. Dil, of course, was not going to dress so formal. Dil wore jeans and an Iron Maiden shirt with the artwork from the _Live After Death_ album, which showed an image of Iron Maiden's mascot, Eddie, rising from the grave. "_Jesus rises from the dead, so Eddie can to," _thought Dil.

Once Blaer was dressed, Dil prepared breakfast for himself and his daughter. After Blaer, reluctantly, had some of her cereal, Dil presented her with some of the Easter candy, she had received from the Pangborns. Blaer brightened! The candy was much more approved than the cereal.

* * *

One o'clock in the afternoon was the approximate time for the Pickles annual Easter gathering at Stu and Didi's home. Dil and Blaer were present, and so was Tommy. Around 2:30, Tommy and Dil decided that they had eaten enough. The brothers decided that they would have a glass of wine to help settle their stomachs. Tommy chose white wine, while Dil chose red wine. With their glasses poured, Tommy and Dil decided to stand on their parents' back patio, while Blaer remained inside and entertained her grandparents.

"Kimi has a question that she wants me to ask you," Tommy said, before he took a sip of his wine.

"What's that?" replied Dil.

"She wants to know, if she can interview you and the band? She interviewed you once before, when you got that record deal, but you've had some success since then—touring with Iron Maiden and all that."

Dil nodded. "I'll text everybody later, and see what I can do."

"Cool—oh! There was something else that I wanted to ask you."

Dil took a sip of his wine. "And what's that?"

"Before I ask you the question, there's something else I wanted to ask you."

"Which is?"

"We're close, aren't we, D?"

Dil smiled. "Well, yeah, T, we're close; we're brothers. Don't you remember when I covered for you, when you were so stressed out that you were sleepwalking and stealing things?"

Tommy laughed. "Yeah, I remember that. Do you remember when you were 14 and wanted so badly to see Dio in LA, and Mom and Dad wouldn't let you?"

Once again, Dil smiled. "Yeah, you really helped me out that day."

Tommy returned the smile. "I convinced Mom and Dad that if you could survive being 600 miles away from them, when we went on that RV thing to New York, how bad could LA be?"

Dil maintained his smile. "That was a great night for me, you know? When I gave the headbanger gesture to Dio, he saw me. He smiled, and gave the gesture right back to me."

"Yeah, you've told me that before."

"Yeah, but you see, I wonder if it was maybe a blessing? That maybe Dio was giving me his personal blessing on that night, and that's why he's watching over me from the Silver Mountain?"

"_Or maybe Dio just saw you and his ten thousand other fans, and decided to give all of you the gesture,"_ thought Tommy. Verbally, however, Tommy said, "I'm getting a little bit off topic from what I originally wanted to ask you."

"And what was that?"

"It's a personal question, but…how come you didn't want to go to church last night?"

Dil's mood changed. "Why did you ask me that question, T?"

"Well, we're close. We're brothers. Dad told me that you didn't want to go, and he didn't ask you on your reasons why. Well, I was curious. We always go to church for Christmas and Easter masses—although you missed last Christmas Eve, because you were away. It just seemed odd for you to always attend church on Holy Saturday and not attend this year."

Dil turned away from his brother. He took a sip of wine and observed the sky. "Do you remember what I told you about how I defined myself religiously?"

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, you said that you considered yourself to be more of an Anglican or Episcopalian, rather than a Catholic."

Dil nodded and returned to his brother. "That's correct. However, I no longer know what I believe anymore, Tommy."

"What do you mean?"

Dil took a sip of wine. "St. Augustine said long ago that God will allow a bad or an evil act to take place, because a greater good will come from it. But what greater good is coming from having Dezirae gone? I'm having difficulty raising a girl—hell, I don't even raise her!"

"What do you mean, 'I don't even raise her'?" asked Tommy.

"Her grandparents raise her. Our parents and her maternal grandparents are raising her. I have to be either in the studio or on tour somewhere, and Blaer has to be either with Mom and Dad or the Pangborns. When Dezirae was here, Blaer had her mother, but now Dezirae is gone. Blaer has lost her mother, and I doubt she'll ever remember her—unless some photograph triggers a memory. Tommy, what greater good is coming from this?"

Tommy said nothing. He did not know how to answer Dil's question.

Dil took another sip. "There's another response to all of this as well."

"What's that?"

"A British philosopher and theologian, named John Hick, stated that God allows a bad or evil act to take place for the purpose of 'soul making'—that it is through such acts that we can grow and become 'children of God'. In other words, God had to take away my wife in order for me to become a saint?! What did Dezirae ever do wrong? True, she wasn't perfect, but neither is anybody else. If that scenario is true, then it sounds as though God uses people as a 'means to an end'. That doesn't sound very loving to me, Tommy."

Tommy took a sip of his wine. "I don't know what to say to you, Dil."

"Nobody else does either, Tommy. Besides, I already know what most of their arguments are going to be anyway."

"Perhaps it would help you, if you didn't think too much about this topic?"

Dil finished the last of his wine, and set his empty glass on a table. "That's probably what a priest or rabbi would tell me, Tommy. It's an easy way for Christians and Jews to stop questioning the all powerful, all knowing, and all loving natures of God."

Tommy nodded. "Do you still wear your Star of David and crucifix?"

Dil showed Tommy the necklaces. "Yes, I still wear them. They seem to almost be part of my stage presence. In many respects, I probably should not wear them, based on what I've told you. But regardless, Tommy, I couldn't attend church last night, because I simply no longer know what I believe. I no longer know what I think about God anymore—I really don't."

Tommy finished the last of his wine and nodded. "What you've said made me think of something."

"What's that?"

Tommy placed his empty glass next to Dil's. "We actually know someone, who went through the same thing you're going through."

"Who's that?"

"Chas Finster."

Dil was stunned. "Chuckie's dad?"

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, remember he lost his wife, Chuckie's mom, when Chuckie was about the same age that Blaer was, when Dezirae passed away."

"…That's true…_I forgot all about that. Maybe I should talk to Mr. Finster about that?"_

"You never know," began Tommy, "he might…"

Tommy's sentence was cut short, when he heard an outside voice. Dil heard it to. The voice belonged to a small child. Dil and Tommy turned to see Blaer at the patio door.

"Daddy!" Blaer said behind the sliding glass door. "Uncle Tommy!"

Dil smiled. He opened the door, and scooped up his daughter. "Hey there, my little strawberry haired girl!" Dil said, while he ran some fingers through Blaer's hair.

Blaer smiled, and she reached for a lock of her father's hair. Dil let her, but when she pulled on his hair, Dil gave her a firm swat. "No, Blaer, you are not to pull on my hair or somebody else's."

Blaer was stunned, and appeared as though she was about to cry.

"Care if I hold her, Dil?" asked Tommy.

Dil smiled—mostly to cheer up his daughter. "Care if your Uncle Tommy holds you?"

Blaer nodded, but it was a sad nod.

Dil maintained his smile. "You know, I think he'd like to hold you, when you're a happy girl." Dil tickled Blaer, until she laughed. Once she did so, Dil added, "Now that's my baby girl!" Dil kissed Blaer's cheek, and handed her over to Tommy.

Blaer appeared to enjoy her uncle's company, which made Dil smile. "You know, Tommy," began Dil, "I see one of those in your future."

Tommy chuckled. "What? A daughter?"

"Well, that or a son."

"With whom?"

"I don't know—Kimi perhaps?"

Again, Tommy chuckled. "Thanks, D. But you know, I could see another one of these in your future one day."

Dil's mood began to change based on Tommy's statement. "Thanks, T, but I try not to worry about things like that."

Tommy looked at Blaer. Blaer smiled, and she did indeed resemble her mother in many respects. Yet, Tommy thought, "_Your father truly needs to get over your mother's death. I realize it's hard for him, but he's got his whole life to live. I don't want to see him this way. I want to see the 'happy go lucky Dil'—your father, my brother."_


	5. Interview with a Dark Stairway

**Author's Note**: Greetings, everyone! This chapter, on the surface, intended to be much longer than what it turned out to be. However, I did not think that a 20-plus page chapter would be very appropriate, so I tried to edit a lot of it out. Still, it is one of the longest chapter that I have written in quite some time. With that being said, many of Dil's mannerisms return in this chapter. Also, some of you might be upset with how I did the interview with Kimi, but that's what I had to trim out. What I did not discuss in the interview will certainly appear later in the story.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter V**

The members of Dark Stairway were able to meet with Kimi on Tuesday, and they arrived in Kimi's office at _The Eagle_ at one o'clock in the afternoon. "Testing one, two," Kimi said, as she checked her recording device. When everything appeared to be in working order, Kimi told the band members, "We'll probably follow the same format as we did the last time that I interviewed all of you."

The members of Dark Stairway nodded.

Kimi pushed the record button and said, "This is Kimi Finster, and I'm here with the members of a local band, who have made quite a splash in the heavy metal world. The band I'm talking about is Dark Stairway, so if you guys would, say 'hello' to everyone."

"Hello, everyone!" the members of Dark Stairway said nearly in unison.

Kimi chuckled. "While I interviewed you guys once before, it's been over three years since then. So, if you would, could you state your name, what instrument do you play, and how you got into this style of music?"

"Well, I guess I'll go first," said Chris. "I'm Chris Wingate, and I play bass. As for how I got into this style of music, well, I think I was born into it. I'm pretty sure that I heard it, when I was still in the womb. My dad was, and still is, a fan of heavy metal. My middle name is 'Blackmore', after Deep Purple and Rainbow founder, Ritchie Blackmore. It's just something I always grew up listening to."

Kimi turned to James.

"I'm James Larkin, and I play keyboards. How I got into heavy metal? Well, that's an interesting question. I was given piano lessons at an early age, because my mother wanted me to learn the piano. Why? I'm not really sure. She was a fairly conservative woman, who was fond of the instrument, that's all I can say."

"Like a feminine version of the previous pope," interjected Dil.

James laughed. "Well, she did work for the Reagan campaign back in the 1980s."

"There you go," Dil said with a smirk.

"I'm sure liberal California loved that tidbit of information on my personal history," continued James. "Anyway, so I'm given piano lessons as a kid, and I hated it. I think the reason why is because I didn't see too much love towards the instrument, but that changed one day, when someone gave me a copy of Deep Purple's _In Rock_. I was told, 'Listen to the keyboard player.' I did, and I became a fan of Jon Lord and this style of music."

"How 'bout you, Johnny?" said Kimi.

"Well, I'm Johnny Adams, and I play drums. How I got into this music? Well, my dad was a drummer, but the kind of music that he played around me was mostly blues-rock, and I used to play some of that, when I was little. Probably the closest metal I would have heard back then would have been a Zeppelin or a Purple song. I remember hearing more Jimi Hendrix or the Rolling Stones more than anything. Where I picked up on this style of music more directly was when I was around 13. I was in a CD shop, and the guy working there put on Rainbow's 'Stargazer'. I didn't know the song at the time, but when I heard the drums, I'm like, 'That's fucking awesome!'".

Kimi and the rest of the band members chuckled. "Oh, I'll have to censor that," she said.

Johnny smirked. "Sorry about that."

The other members of Dark Stairway laughed.

"Anyway," continued Johnny, "when I heard that song, I was hooked."

"Well, I guess we should turn next to Andrew," said Kimi. "So, Andrew?"

"I'm Andrew Stanislov, and I play guitar. I've pretty much been around music my whole life. Despite my blonde-hair and blue-eyes, my great-grandmother was a Russian gypsy, so I used to hear a lot of, what I guess you would call, Russian-Romani folk music growing up. In fact, the first guitar I learned to play on was what is called a 'Russian Guitar' or a 'Gypsy Guitar', which is a seven string guitar. As for how I got into metal, I think it's probably always been all around me. I remember that my dad had copies of Black Sabbath's _Sabbath Bloody Sabbath_ and DIO's _The Last in Line_ on cassette, and I remember liking the guitar sound for the song, 'The Last in Line', so that may have been what hooked me, I don't know…But I can tell you one thing I do know, I still don't care for Vivian Campbell."

The members of Dark Stairway laughed.

"Neither does Dio," added Dil.

Again, the members of Dark Stairway laughed.

Finally, Kimi turned to Dil.

"Well, from one person of Russian descent to another," began Dil, "I guess I'm the 'last in line'. Now we'll see, if I'm 'evil or divine', or if I'll 'shine'?"

The other members of Dark Stairway laughed.

Dil grinned. "With that being said, I'm Dil Pickles, and I can play guitar, but not as good as Andrew; and I play keyboard, but not as good as James; so they regulated me to sing instead."

Again, the members of Dark Stairway laughed.

Again, Dil grinned. "So how did I get in this style of music? Well, it's an interesting story. Unlike Andrew, Chris, and Johnny, my parents did not listen to heavy metal. Or if they did, I don't remember it. I remember them listening to a lot of disco, when I was growing up—and I would like to personally thank the Grim Reaper for taking his 'magic scythe', and decapitating that music."

Those present chuckled.

"Now I am only hoping, along with everybody else on the Silver Mountain, that the same thing happens to rap and hip hop—even though that will make my childhood friend, Susie, mad, but we have guardian angels protecting us, and she doesn't."

Andrew, Chris, James, and Johnny laughed. Kimi did not—mostly because she could not understand many of Dil's references. Nevertheless, she asked, "I'm surprised you didn't put country music in that scenario as well?"

"Oh, I would like to, but you see, Death wants to keep country music around. Country music causes people to become depressed and commit suicide, which gives Death his job security."

Kimi now laughed with the other members of Dark Stairway. She did her best to return the conversation back to a serious discussion. "You still haven't explained how you got involved in this kind of music, Dil."

"Oh, sorry about that—I get distracted sometimes."

Those present chuckled.

Dil smirked. "Anyway, I often tell people that my exposure to heavy metal was with my first real job, but as I think about it right now, that's not entirely true. My first real exposure to heavy metal was when I was 11. I was watching MTV, and I happened to see an episode of _The Osbournes_. I heard how Ozzy was this 'heavy metal legend', but all I could think was, 'What a fucking joke!'"

Andrew, Chris, Johnny, and James laughed.

Kimi smirked. "Well, I'll have to remember to censor that quote, when it comes to final editing."

"Now let me state," continued Dil, "that as I came to discover the history of heavy metal, I came to have great respect for Ozzy. But with that being said, I have no respect for what I call 'Ozzy, Inc.'—and secretly, I doubt Ozzy does either."

"Ozzy, Inc.?" asked Kimi.

"Short for 'Ozzy, Incorporated', obviously, but it's the empire that Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy's wife, built and rules with an iron fist. I can promise you that Sharon'll have Ozzy on stage, until he drops dead."

The other members of Dark Stairway chuckled.

"Well, that'll keep us forever off the stage at _Ozzfest_," said Andrew.

Dil shrugged his shoulders—a gesture that implied that he could 'care less'. "You know," began Dil, "I was at _Ozzfest_ in 2005, shortly after my 15th birthday, and I saw the infamous incident with Iron Maiden. So that way I see it, fuck Sharon! I paid good money to be entertained, and not to witness Iron Maiden's power constantly pulled on them!"

Johnny chuckled. "So how do you really feel, Dil?"

"You heard me, but I'm sure Kimi will censor it."

Dil gave Kimi a grin, and Kimi was not sure what to think of it.

"Now back to your question again," began Dil—while the other members of Dark Stairway laughed, "I got my first real job as a dishwasher, when I was 14, at a 'Ma and Pop' restaurant called _The Café_—so there's a shout out to the place. The cook, a guy named Rod, was in charge of the kitchen, and he was a major heavy metal fan. Since he was the man in charge of the kitchen, he always played his music in the kitchen. So I was always hearing things like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Dio, Grave Digger, and so forth. After hearing the music so much, I began to fall in love with it. But I don't think I was really hooked on it, until the day before Halloween of that year.

"Through my parents' permission, Rod took me to see DIO in LA, and I think that's when I finally fell in love with the music and the heavy metal lifestyle. I remember that Dio had just finished singing 'Master of the Moon', and he informed the crowd that the next song was 'Heaven and Hell'. Right before the band started playing, I yelled out, 'Dio!', and flashed the headbanger gesture, and I swear this happened. Ronnie saw me, smiled, and gave the gesture back to me. I truly believe somehow that it was some type of blessing."

The other members of Dark Stairway smirked.

Kimi, despite having spent practically her whole life around Dil, was stunned by his rhetoric. Still, she moved on. "Based on your role in the band, are their any musicians that you look up to?"

"In truth," began Chris, "the bass player, the drummer, and the keyboard player often don't get the attention that they deserve. Not by the fans, of course, but by casual outsiders. So because of that, I turn to those who have made a great impact on the bass. Steve Harris, the founder of Iron Maiden, is one of those people. Another one would be Bob Daisley, whom I'm sure Dil would tell us was treated quite well by Ozzy, Inc."

Dil smirked. "Quite so."

Chris chuckled. "I heard Bob say in an interview how he liked the heaviness of the bass guitar, and it does have a great heavy sound, which contributes well to our style of music. Geezer Butler, one of the founders of Black Sabbath, is definitely another. Another element that Steve, Bob, and Gezzer share is that they're great lyricists, which lets the bass player know that he or she can contribute something else to the band."

"Do you contribute any of the lyrics?" asked Kimi.

"I do sometimes, yes."

"Everybody contributes in their own way," added Dil.

Kimi turned to Andrew. "What about you, Andrew?"

"As for those who influenced me," began Andrew, "definitely Ritchie Blackmore and Jimmy Page, because of their diversity on the guitar, and obviously Tony Iommi, because his riffs created that hard raw sound that we call heavy metal."

Kimi turned to Johnny.

And Johnny smirked. "I'm kind of in the same position as Chris. I'm the drummer. I mean, unless you're someone like a Cozy Powell, you don't often receive the respect that you deserve. But Cozy, of course, was one of my heroes. So was Lars Ulrich of Metallica. I'd probably throw in John Bonham of Led Zeppelin as another."

Kimi turned to James.

And James chuckled. "Well, I'm the third guy in the band, who often doesn't receive the attention that he deserves. I'm the keyboard player. You almost have to be a Jon Lord or a Rick Wakeman to get attention as a keyboard player. But I certainly look to Jon Lord. I also have great admiration for Tony Carey, and the work he did on the Rainbow _Rising_ album. Claude Schnell is another great keyboard player, for the work he did in DIO."

Kimi nodded, and turned the last member of Dark Stairway, who had yet to answer her question.

Dil grinned. "Last in line again, see how I'll shine."

Those present chuckled.

Dil smiled. "Before I answer your question, Kimi, there is something that I want to point out. All the references to bass players, drummers, and keyboard players often not getting the attention they deserve is tragically correct. But what people need to understand is that Dark Stairway is a band. Dil Pickles alone cannot produce the sound that we make, and neither can Andrew Stanislov. A band is a band, and you're only as good as the people that you play with.

"Now with that being said, who do I look up to musically? For me, my 'big list' would be Ronnie James Dio, Bruce Dickinson, Robert Plant, Ian Gillan, Rob Halford, Chris Boltendahl and Klaus Meine. But I also have great respect for Ripper Owens—the stuff he did with Iced Earth and Yngwie Malmsteen was fantastic."

As the interview continued on, Kimi asked the band questions about a new album, their tour with Iron Maiden, and the music industry in general. Dark Stairway provided her with some interesting answers. Kimi was pleased with the results so far, and she was particularly happy with Dil's attitude throughout the interview. After Dezirae's passing, Dil often went through periods of melancholy, but here he was the 'happy-go-lucky' character she had grown up with. However, that changed, when Kimi asked the band her final question. Kimi's question related to the band's worst moment in music. Dil responded that for him the loss of Dio was the worst musically, but losing Dio was nothing like him losing Dezirae.

* * *

After Dil left _The Eagle_ offices, his first stop was to the Pangborns to secure his daughter. Once Dil had Blaer fastened properly in her car seat he said, "Let's stop somewhere briefly, before we head home, Blaer."

"'Kay," Blaer said around her pacifier, which was attached to her shirt by a clip.

Once the two were on the road, Dil played one of his CDs. The CD in question was Iron Maiden's _Piece of Mind_. From that CD, the song, 'The Trooper' played, while Dil was stopped at a red light. Dil decided to take the opportunity to check on his daughter. What he saw stunned him. Blaer was 'rocking out' in her car seat to the music with a bright smile. Dil laughed, as he quickly tickled his daughter. As the light turned green, Dil thought, _"She's truly worthy of that shirt."_ Blaer wore a shirt that read, 'Daddy's Little Metal Head'.

* * *

"Aunt Betty!" exclaimed Blaer, when Dil carried her into the Java Lava.

"'Aunt Betty'?" said a stunned Dil.

Behind the counter, Betty DeVille laughed. "That's what I started calling myself, whenever your parents would bring Blaer in, or whenever Ashley and Chuckie would come in with Kirk."

"I see," said Dil, who felt slightly awkward. Besides carrying his daughter, he also carried her diaper bag. Dil knew that he had to, but it made him feel feminine. Women were supposed to carry diaper bags, not men—especially not when one of those men was a rocker.

"How ya doing there, Blaery?" Betty asked, while she gave Blaer a tickle.

Blaer giggled, which caused her pacifier to leave her mouth.

Dil smiled, as placed Blaer's diaper bag next to a barstool, and sat at Java Lava's bar with Blaer on his lap. "She's been rocking out some with her daddy."

Betty chuckled. "Well, she's definitely worthy of the shirt she's wearing, I'd say."

"That she is!" Dil said, before he gave Blaer's cheek a kiss.

"Enjoying your time back home?" asked Betty.

"That I am! I had an interview today with Kimi at _The Eagle_. Well, actually all of us did."

"You mean the members of the band?"

"Correct."

"So who looked after Blaer?"

"The Pangborns."

"Ah, you know, Mr. Pangborn has brought his granddaughter in here some?"

"Has he?"

Betty nodded. "Sure has. It's interesting watching this former pro-wrestler with his granddaughter; how he plays with her."

Dil returned the nod. "I've seen it before at their house. I could just imagine what those of us in junior high would have thought, if we could have seen pictures of Pangborn playing with Blaer. He used to scare us half to death."

Betty smiled. "He loves his granddaughter very much. He told me once that whenever he misses Dezirae, all he has to do is look at Blaer, and it makes him feel better."

A change came over Dil. "Yeah."

Betty placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're still thinking of her, huh?"

Dil did not look at Betty, but instead looked at his wedding ring. "Yeah." When Dil did finally turn to Betty, he asked, "Is Mr. Finster in?"

"Chazy? No, he's out with…"

Betty's sentence was cut short, when Java Lava's door opened, and Chas Finster entered.

"Well, it looks as though I stand corrected," said Betty.

Behind Chas entered his son, Chuckie, and his daughter-in-law, Ashley, who carried their 32 month old son, Kirk.

"Hey, Dil!" said Chuckie.

Dil smiled. "Hey, Chuckie."

"Hi, Dil," said Ashley.

Dil maintained his smile. "Hey, Ashley." Through his smile, Dil was laughing at himself. Besides carrying Kirk, Ashley also carried his diaper bag. _"As if I couldn't get any more girly,"_ thought Dil.

"Kirk, look who's here," added Ashley.

"Hi, Bwaer!" said Kirk.

"Hi, Kirk!" said Blaer.

When Ashley carried Kirk toward Blaer, the two toddlers began to reach out to each other, but their hands seem to go in the direction of each other's hair.

"Blaer," began Dil, "you remember what happened the last time that you grabbed someone's hair?"

"Kirk," began Ashley, "what did Mommy do the last time you grabbed someone's hair?"

Immediately the two toddlers stopped.

Dil and Ashley smiled.

Dil observed Kirk Finster. It had been some time, since he had last seen him. Kirk Finster inherited the thick red hair of his father, but he did not wear glasses. Chuckie Finster had to wear glasses around the same age as his son. Because Kirk wore no glasses, Dil assumed he must have inherited his mother's eye sight. What caught Dil's attention the most was the shirt Kirk wore. The shirt was blue, and it contained the image of Saturn-but it was also significantly faded. "You know, I've seen that shirt before."

Chuckie grinned. "Yeah, it was mine."

"I always thought it was a cute shirt," said Ashley. "I've seen these pictures of Chuckie, when he was real little, and I thought that I should dress Kirk in one of his shirts."

A moment after Ashley finished her statement, the door to Java Lava opened again. This time Dil's cousin, Angelica, entered, along with his bandmate, Johnny. In front of both of them were their respected children—Ian, Angelica's five-year-old son; and Austra, Johnny's five-year-old daughter.

"I wonder what curse it is that has brought me to be in the presence of the 'Heavy Metal King David' again?" asked Johnny with a smile.

Dil smirked. "Whatever curse it is, I'm sure you created it."

Dil took a moment to observe his second cousin and Johnny's daughter-it had been a while since he had last seen them. Ian Pickles had thick blonde hair, which indicated that it had been a while, since his hair had been cut. Austra's long brown hair was braided, and she wore a flowery dress.

"Pretty dress you've got on there, Austra," said Dil. "And Ian, that's a rocking shirt!"

Ian Pickles wore a shirt that was in many respects too big for him, but it was a Dark Stairway shirt from their first album cover, which showed the image of a dimly lit staircase and the bandmembers hovering above it in ghostly form.

"Johnny gave me one of those," said Angelica. "He thought that Ian might like to wear it."

Dil smiled. "And it looks like he does. I'm sure he's the coolest kid on the playground. Oh, and Angelica?"

"Yes?"

"Don't cut his hair."

Angelica smirked. "He's getting one tomorrow, Dil."

_"Should be a form of male mutilation,"_ thought Dil.

"Care to join us, Dil?" asked Chuckie. "All of us are going to sit together."

"You and Ashley along with Angelica and Johnny?"

"Well, yeah."

"I'll join you in a little bit. There's something I need to ask Mr. Finster."

"Who me?" asked Chas.

Dil smiled. "Yes, you, there's something I want to ask you."

"Well, sure Dil."

"But before I do so, I have a question for my cousin."

"What's that, Dil?" asked Angelica.

"Could you watch Blaer for just a moment, while I talk to Mr. Finster?"

"Sure, Dil."

"Thanks," Dil said with a smile.

* * *

Dil sat at Java Lava's 'bar' with Chas Finster, while Betty prepared smoothies for the large order that came from Angelica's and Chuckie's table. Dil drank a smoothie, and Chas drank a bottle of water.

"So, Dil," began Chas, "what did you want to ask me?"

"Mr. Finster…"

"'Chas'," interjected Chas Finster. "You can call me 'Chas'—much like I'm going to call you 'Dil' and not the 'Heavy Metal King David'."

Dil chuckled. "Well, that's an interesting way to begin this conversation, Chas—considering the seriousness of my question."

"Which is?"

Dil paused. "After your wife, Chuckie's mom, passed away, how did you deal with it?"

Chas was stunned. "Wow! That certainly was not a question that I was expecting." Chas took a drink and added, "Well, Dil, I guess I tried to fill that void by helping out those that I cared about. Certainly, I had Chuckie to care for, but there were others that I cared about—your parents and your brother for example. And, of course, eventually Kimi and Kira came into my life. With me, I guess just trying to help others with their problems, helped me out with mine."

Dil took a sip of his smoothie and nodded. "I see."

"Might I ask you something, Dil?"

Dil took another sip and replied, "I don't know—might you?"

Chas chuckled. "I think that I might just do so." Chas took another drink and asked, "You're thinking about Dezirae, aren't you?"

Dil nodded, and turned to his wedding ring. "Yeah. It's been over four months, and she's still in my thoughts. I just can't accept the fact that she's gone."

Chas returned the nod. "I know how you feel, Dil. I've been there, but you're going to have to accept the fact that she's gone. She can always have a place in your heart—Melinda does with me—and you can always tell Blaer about her, but you have to realize that Dezirae's not coming back. You're only 25, Dil. You've got your whole life to live."

Dil sadly nodded, while he continued to look at his wedding ring.

Chas smiled. "You know, your dad told me something once long ago."

"And what's that?"

"I was asking him about your grandpa's marriage to Lulu, which you would have been too young to remember, but your dad told me that your grandfather told both your dad and your uncle that it was the love that he had in his heart for Trixie, your biological grandmother, that helped him to love again."

Dil nodded. _"I'm sure Grandpa Lou said that,"_ thought Dil. _"But I'm just not feeling it. Sometimes I wonder, if being with another girl would be like a betrayal of Dezirae's memory?"_

"Dil?" a voice called.

The voice ended Dil's thoughts. He turned to the voice, and saw that it belonged to Angelica, who carried Blaer. "What is it, Angelica? Is she giving you any problems?"

Angelica chuckled. "No, no, she's a good girl, but she needs her diaper changed, so here you go, Dad!"

Chas laughed.

Dil smirked, while he took Blaer from Angelica. "Isn't this wonderful?"

Angelica laughed. "Yes, I said similar things, every time I had to change one of Ian's diapers."

Dil sighed, as he grabbed Blaer's diaper bag and said, "Well, I guess I have to be the one to take care of this situation."

Angelica smirked. "Yes, Dil, you do. Oh, and Dil?"

"Yeah?"

"This weekend Johnny and I are taking Ian and Austra to Slosh Mountain, and Chuckie and Ashley are taking Kirk as well. You should come along and take Blaer. It'll be fun. The kids will really enjoy it."

"Sure, I'll go. I remember the place as a kid—particularly the time Tommy and I lost Grandpa Boris, after he had surgery on his cataracts. The only thing is, I'm not sure if Blaer has a swimsuit or anything."

"Well, go out and buy her one! And buy her a few swimmer diapers as well. They're not that expensive."

"Yeah, okay, sure. That seems easy enough."

As Angelica watched Dil walk away with Blaer, she thought, _"I really wonder sometimes how much knowledge of parenting Dil truly has?"_


	6. House of Nevermore

**Author's Note**: Hey, everyone! A little bit of a longer chapter this time around, and, I would also argue, a little more plot development.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter VI**

Friday was April Fool's Day, and a day Dil used to enjoy, when he was younger. Dil enjoyed April Fool's Day, because he always wanted to see if people could tell that he was joking, or if he was being serious. But those days were all in the past. For April Fool's Day of 2016, Blaer Pickles spent the evening with her paternal grandparents, while her father enjoyed an evening with his bandmates at The Friendly Tap. Tommy and Kimi were present as well, since they would be returning to Los Angeles sometime on Saturday. All was well for the members of Dark Stairway and Tommy and Kimi. Dil was his traditional cheerful self, until a song changed his mood. James had selected various songs on the digital jukebox. One of those songs was Judas Priest's 'Out in the Cold'. When Dil heard the song, his mood changed. Gone was the 'happy go-lucky' character, and in its place was a melancholy Dylan Pickles. Those present tried to cheer him up. Tommy suggested that it would perhaps be best, if his brother visited a psychologist. The suggestion, however, infuriated Dil, who promptly left the bar.

* * *

At home, Dil turned off his cellphone. Calls came to his landline telephone, but Dil refused to answer them. Dil sat in his bedroom with the lights off. The only light came from the Moon and from his computer screen. Dil may have left the bar, but he continued to drink. On YouTube, Dil played songs to reflect his mood. Grave Digger's 'Yesterday' and 'Always and Eternally' were two of the songs that he played. So was DIO's 'Invisible'. And a live version of The Scorpions' 'We'll Burn the Sky' was a song Dil played frequently.

Dil, who was becoming more and more intoxication, began to weep. While 'We'll Burn the Sky' played, Dil stared at the sky outside his bedroom window. A star sparkled. "If that you, Dezirae, please know that I love you, and I miss you," Dil said through his tears.

Eventually, Dil sat on his bed. He placed his half-full Bud Light bottle on a nightstand, and laid his head on a pillow. Dil's eyes turn to the ceiling. _"Why couldn't I have died instead of Dezirae?"_ he thought. _"Blaer would be better taken care of, if Dezirae was here, rather than me. My bandmates would have suffered some, I'm sure, but they would have found a new lead singer eventually ."_

Alcohol, of course, is one of the world's best downers. And Dil Pickles, eventually, went into dream land.

* * *

Around seven in the morning, Dil gasped. He woke up in a cold sweat. He was hung-over, but he was thankful to be up. "My God," he said. "What a nightmare!"

Dil turned to his nightstand. He saw his half-empty bottle of Bud Light. "I can't believe how much I drank last night."

Dil grabbed the bottle, and poured the remaining contents down his bathroom sink. "What a waste of good beer," he said.

Once Dil left his bathroom, his landline telephone rang. His Caller ID revealed that the caller was his brother. "Hello?"

"Dil!" exclaimed Tommy. "Thank God. I was worried about you."

"You were?"

Tommy nodded. "Yes! Kimi and I drove by your house last night, and I could tell that your car was in the garage. I thought about knocking on your door, but Kimi told me not to. That's when I tried calling your cellphone and landline multiple times, but I got no response. Kimi told me that I should 'give you some space', but I was worried about you."

Dil twirled a strand of his long hair. "I didn't feel like talking to anybody last night, Tommy."

Again, Tommy nodded. "I understand, Dil. Look, please understand that I was only trying to help you. I wasn't trying to hurt you, when I said that you needed to see a psychologist. It's just that, well, Dil, I want my brother back. I want the 'happy-go-luck' Dil that's my brother. I don't want this guy that's subjected to mood swings. They're not fun to be around."

Dil smiled. "Yeah, like Ritchie Blackmore."

"Huh?"

"Ritchie Blackmore, the musician."

"Yeah, I know who he is. What about him?"

"He's known to be very moody."

Tommy smiled.

"Anyway, based on the nightmare I had last night, maybe I should go see a shrink."

"A nightmare?"

"Yeah."

"What about it?"

Dil went into detail about the nightmare that he had experienced.

Tommy was stunned. "Wow that is…odd."

Dil nodded. "Yeah, I know. Anyway, when are you and Kimi leaving for LA?"

"The flight out is at 11:00 this morning. What are your plans for the day?"

"I'm kind of surprised you asked me that. I have to pick up Blaer at Mom and Dad's, and take her to Slosh Mountain."

"Oh, that's right!"

"I guess other than that, I might try to get a quick workout in."

"You remember that time we ended up taking Grandpa Boris there?"

Dil chuckled. "Sure do, T. He had surgery on his cataracts, so we lied and told him that we're taking him to the senior center, and then we ended up losing him in the park."

"'Back in the old country,'" Tommy began, as he tried to mimic his late maternal grandfather's accent.

Dil laughed. "I'll be curious to see how Blaer enjoys it. I'm sure Mom has got her all dressed up. I bought her one of those toddler swimsuits and a few of those swimmer's diapers."

Tommy smiled. "Mom really likes being around her, you know?"

"Well, yeah, it's her granddaughter."

"No, I think it's more than that."

"Well, what is it then?"

Tommy smirked. "I think Blaer represents the girl Mom always wanted."

Dil sighed. "Oh God, you're not going to go into the whole thing about how Mom and Dad expected me to be a girl, are you?"

Tommy laughed. "No, no, I'm just saying that I think that if Blaer had been born a boy, Mom might have felt a different bond toward her grandchild."

Dil smirked. "Perhaps."

"Anyway, Dil, I'm going to have to take off from here. Kimi and I need to get things ready, before we take off for the airport."

"Okay, Tommy. Well, I guess that I'll see you whenever you come back here, or maybe I'll see you sometime in LA."

"See ya around, D."

"See ya, T."

* * *

Dil arrived at his parents' house around noon. He wore a DIO shirt with artwork from _The Last in Line_ album on the front and his swimming trunks.

"Hello, everyone!" Dil said, as he entered his childhood home. "Mom? Dad? Blaer?"

"Hi, Dil!" Didi said, while she exited the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom. Where's Dad at, and where's Blaer?"

"Your father's at the hardware store. Blaer's upstairs in your old bedroom."

"I take it Blaer's ready to go?"

"Of course! I got her all dressed up about ten minutes ago. Also, I bought something else for her, in case she needs it."

"What's that?"

Didi smiled. "Well, you'll just have to see."

* * *

Dil ascended the staircase with his mother behind him. At the final step, Dil stepped over the baby gate to emerge on the second floor of the Pickles residence. From there, Dil entered his childhood bedroom. Little of its interior remained from Dil's days as a child and teenager. What did remain were a Metallica poster, which displayed how the band appeared in the early 1990s; a burned CD of AC/DC's _Back in Black_; Dil's childhood bed; and images of planets from the solar system, which hung above the bed. One new feature, or rather a feature from the past, was the crib that Tommy and Dil had slept in, when they were little. Now the crib acted as a bed for Blaer, when she stayed with her paternal grandparents.

Blaer Pickles sat on the floor in her purple swimsuit with swimmer's diaper underneath. She browsed through a pop-up book.

"There's my baby girl!" Dil said, before he quickly snatched and tickled his daughter.

Blaer giggled, but through her giggles she exclaimed, "Daddy!"

Dil kissed his daughter's cheek, and sat on the floor with Blaer on his lap, before he turned to his mother.

Didi smiled. "You're a great father, Dil."

"Thanks," Dil said with a smirk. _"Unfortunately, I'm a lousy father, Mom,"_ were Dil's inner thoughts. But verbally, he said, "So what's the new thing that you bought her? She's wearing everything that I got her."

"I bought her these," responded Didi, while she grabbed a pair of inflatable armbands.

"Floaties?"

Didi nodded. "I bought them for her yesterday and your father blew them up with the bicycle pump you and Tommy used long ago. I thought she might need them; you never know."

Dil nodded. "True, you never do. Well," began Dil, while he stood with Blaer in his arms, "I guess we should get ready to go." Dil turned to his daughter. "Blaer, are you ready to go swim with Kirk, Ian, and Austra?"

"Yeah!"

Dil chuckled.

Didi smiled, and kissed her granddaughter. "Be safe, and have fun, sweetie."

* * *

At Slosh Mountain, Dil spent little time in the water. While he did play some with Blaer in the 'kiddie pool', he spent most of his time watching Blaer play with Ian, Austra, and Kirk—or in reality, Blaer played with Kirk more than she did with Ian and Austra, probably due to the age difference between the children.

Unlike Dil, Angelica, Johnny, Chuckie, and Ashley were active with playing with their children. At the moment, however, Kirk and Blaer played, while Ian and Austra played. Yet, the distance between Angelica, Johnny, Chuckie, and Ashley to their children and Dil was enough for them to have a conversation without it being heard by either Dil or the children.

"I just don't get Dil," said Ashley. "Why doesn't he want to come in here, and play with his daughter?"

"He could be going through a mood swing," replied Johnny. "He's been going through a lot of them lately."

"Like someone who's pregnant," interjected Angelica.

Those present chuckled.

But Johnny smirked. "Seriously though, you know."

"I take it he's been this way ever since Dezirae's passing?" said Chuckie.

Johnny nodded. "Pretty much—we were on tour with Iron Maiden, and there were times that Dil would just stare off into space. And then there were times that he was the character that we all know and love."

"Or loathe," added Angelica.

Again, those present chuckled.

But Angelica smirked. "Seriously though, I love my cousin."

"Question, Johnny," said Chuckie.

"What's that, Chuckie?"

"When Dil is 'staring off into space', are you really sure that he's just not having a conversation with Ronnie James Dio?"

Those present laughed.

Eventually, Johnny smiled. "I don't think so."

"And why's that?" asked Chuckie.

"He looked too much at his wedding ring. I could tell that he was thinking about Dezirae."

"But it's been nearly five months," said Angelica. "How long is Dil going to mourn?"

"Queen Victoria mourned for her husband for nearly forty years," responded Chuckie.

"But I would think that considering Dil's basically a 'rock star' that he would have girls all over him?" said Angelica.

"He does," answered Johnny. "But Dil never lets them get too far with him. Sometimes he'll even show his wedding ring—almost as a way to tell them to 'back off'."

"That's love," said Ashley.

"That it is," said Johnny.

Eventually, Angelica turned to her younger cousin and said, "Dil, are you going to come in and join us? I think Blaer would really like it."

Dil smiled. He may not have heard the conversation between Angelica, Johnny, Chuckie, and Ashley, but he was not going through a 'mood swing'. Instead, he was acting in what he thought was his daughter's best interest. "No," said Dil, "I want to keep my eyes on Blaer—to make sure Kirk doesn't try to give her a quick kiss, while I'm not looking—but I want to give my daughter her own space. One day Blaer's going to have to do things on her own, so I want to give her some freedom at an early age."

Angelica, Johnny, Chuckie, and Ashley were stunned. Some of them have questioned Dil's parental skills, and here he was saying something quite intelligent. Also, Dil's statement made them wonder if perhaps they were not being too overprotective toward their children.

"Hey, Dil!" said an outside voice.

Dil turned to the voice. Its owner was someone Dil had known since childhood. "Hey, Lil, nice bikini!"

Lil DeVille blushed in her red and black bikini. "Thanks, do you like it?"

Dil smiled. "Very much so. So what are you doing here? Trying to pick up single fathers?"

Lil chuckled. "No, no, nothing like that. I have a client, who has a little boy. I occasionally come here with her and her son."

"Oh, that's right; you decided to apply for work at another psychology firm. No longer doing the sports psychology thing, I take it?"

"If it gets sent to me, but now I just handle all kinds of cases."

Dil nodded.

"I take it that you're here with Blaer?" asked Lil.

Again, Dil nodded. "Yeah, and I'm also here with Angelica, Johnny, Chuckie, Ashley, and their kids."

"Oh, where are they at?"

"Over there," gestured Lil.

"Well, I'll have to say 'hello' to them."

"Lil?"

"Yeah, Dil?"

"Do you know much about dreams?"

"Dreams? What do you mean?"

"Well, you know, like how Doctor Freud talked about dreams?"

"You mean in a psychological sense?"

"Yeah."

"Well, yeah sure, to a certain degree."

"Would you be willing to evaluate me?"

"Evaluate you?!"

Dil chuckled. "Well, yeah."

Lil also chuckled. "You're an odd one, Dil."

"Come now, I'm being serious."

"You are?"

"Yes! Would you be willing to evaluate me or not?"

"Well, sure, Dil—call and make an appointment."

"Thanks, I will."

Lil playfully touched Dil's nose and smiled. "You're a psychologist's dream."

Dil playfully tickled Lil. "Thanks."

Lil giggled. "Well, I'm going to say 'hi' to everyone else. Hope to see you sometime this upcoming week."

Dil smiled. "That you will." But as Lil walked away, Dil observed her. _"I never really noticed how pretty Lil was until now. Damn, she's gorgeous! When she touched me, I have to admit, I felt something. Something that I haven't felt in a long time." _


	7. A Journey Through the Mind of Dil

**Author's Note**: I'm not trained in psychology, so I had to do a little bit of research on this one. How accurate my research was, I don't know. But I think it works well for the story. By the way, to those who have reviewed me or followed me so far, I do appreciate it, and hope that they continue.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter VII**

On Friday, shortly before four o'clock in the afternoon, Dil arrived at Lil's place of employment. Lil worked at a place that had such a unique name that Dil could not help but smile. The name of Lil's place of employment was called 'The Freud-Jung-Skinner Institute of Psychology'. _"Sounds like a name I would have come up with,"_ thought Dil, as he walked into the building and to the reception desk. From the reception desk, Dil was escorted to Lil's office.

Lil's office contained the standard elements of most offices. Her office contained a desk with a telephone and a computer, and on the wall behind her desk were two of her diplomas. But two features were different in Lil's office. One unique feature in Lil's office was a refrigerator. The other feature, and the one that stood out the most, was the couch. The couch in Lil's office was a red-velvet couch with a head rest but no leg rest. Dil sat on the couch. _"Well, one can certainly tell that this is a psychologist's office,"_ thought Dil, before he sat on the couch. _"Rather comfy." _

Dil's thoughts ended, when he heard the sound of the doorknob turning. When the door opened, he saw Lil.

"Hello, Dil," said Lil, as she entered her office. "How goes it?"

Dil took a moment to observe Lil, before he responded. Lil wore a black dress skirt and white blouse with her brown hair dangling over her shoulders. "It goes well, Lil," Dil said. But internally, Dil said, _"Damn, she's gorgeous! Girls that hot shouldn't be allowed to dress that way for work."_

"Well, it appears as though you have found the place where you'll hopefully be relaxing for the next hour at the most," Lil said, while she gestured to the couch.

Dil smiled. "It's rather comfortable."

Lil returned the smile. "Good, that's how it's supposed to be. May I bring you some water, Dil?"

"Sure."

Lil returned with two glasses of ice water. She kept one glass for herself, and handed the other glass to Dil. "You're my last client of the day, Dil."

"Well, that's good. I'm the 'last in line', that means 'I'll shine'."

Lil did not understand Dil's reference, but she still smirked. "So who's watching Miss Blaer today?"

"The Pangborns—I dropped Blaer off at her grandparents about half an hour ago."

Lil smiled. "I'm sure Mr. Pangborn just loves that."

"Very much so," Dil said with a smile. "He loves his granddaughter."

"I know; I've seen it."

"Have you?"

Lil nodded. "At the Java Lava, I've seen Mr. Pangborn bring Blaer in there multiple times. It's kind of funny, when you think about it. This big former wrestler, that used to scare the hell out of us when we were kids, acting like a 'giant teddy bear' around his granddaughter."

Again, Dil smiled. "Yeah."

"Anyway," continued Lil, "why don't you get yourself comfortable on the couch?"

Dil stretched himself out. "Will this work for you?"

"It's not an issue of whether or not it works for me. It's an issue on whether or not it works for you."

"It works for me, 'Mrs. Freud'," Dil said with a smile.

Lil smirked. "You know that I hate him, Dil?"

"Doctor Freud? Really? His name is on the building."

"Yeah, so? That doesn't mean that I like him."

"Well, what did he ever do to you?"

"I'm a woman."

Dil nodded. "Fair enough."

Lil smiled. "Anyway, let's get started."

"Sounds good," said Dil.

Lil grabbed a notepad and a pen. "So, Dylan, tell me what brought you here today?"

"Well, Lillian, I'm sure that many would say that I'm here, because I'm not the same person anymore. I've been told that I've grown rather moody."

Lil nodded, while she took notes.

"Dezirae's passing has been considered the catalyst of this, but I'm not here because of that. I'm here, because of an incident from last week."

"Which was?" asked Lil.

"About a week ago," began Dil, "I was all alone sitting in my bedroom. Blaer was at my mom and dad's, so I had the house to myself. I was saying to myself how it would have been better, if I had died and Dezirae had lived. Blaer would have had her mom, who was a much better parent than I could ever be. My bandmates I'm sure would have missed me, but they would have carried on without my eventually."

Lil's eyes grew wide. "You're not having suicidal tendencies, are you, Dil?"

Dil shook his head. "No, no. I was just real depressed that night, and thinking about those things."

Lil nodded. "Okay." But in her thoughts, she added, _"I'll interpret Dil's statement to be one of those, 'I wish I was dead' statements that many of us say when we become depressed. Still, I have something to say to him about this later on."_

"And it was sometime after that," continued Dil, "that I fell asleep…or rather, I passed out."

"You were drinking?"

Dil nodded. "Yeah."

"So then what happened?"

"Well, I was fairly certain that I was in my bedroom, and I swore that I heard Blaer saying, 'Daddy! Daddy!' I remember that I said back her name—somehow forgetting that Blaer was at my parents."

Lil nodded. "So then what happened?"

"Well, I turned to where I heard her voice, and saw her crib. I could still hear her saying, 'Daddy! Daddy!' Yet, ironically, I couldn't see her."

"Just her crib?"

"Right, just the crib." Dil took a sip of water and added, "Anyway, I tried to get up from my crib, and somehow I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. It's like I was being 'held down'. I wanted to get up, and somehow I couldn't." Dil took another sip of water and added, "And then I saw this figure."

"This figure?" asked Lil.

Dil nodded. "Yeah, this figure—at first he appeared human, but then his flesh rotted away, and he looked like a monster. He had, what looked like a machete, and he swung it at me, but somehow it went right through me."

"Did you feel any pain?"

Dil shook his head. "No, it just went right through me. The best way I can describe it is to think of a video game. You have those games, where you take a 'magic potion', and become 'invincible'. Someone could fire a bullet at you, or pierce you with a sword, and the bullet or sword simply goes right through you, and you can just stand there smiling."

Lil nodded. "Okay."

"So this guy swings his machete at me a few times and just vanishes."

"Gone?"

"Yeah, gone," Dil replied, before he took another drink. "But then another figure appeared."

"Another figure?"

"Yeah, I felt someone grab my arm, and I forced myself to turn. Whoever it was, he or she was wearing all black. A part of me didn't want to investigate, but I decided to do anyway." Dil paused to take a sip of water. "I motioned my eyes, so I could see this person's face."

"What did you see?"

"This person was all dressed in black, as I mentioned earlier, and I could tell that they were men's clothes. However, they looked like clothes a fairly upper-class man would have worn in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries. Regardless of which, when I got to where I would see the man's face, there was nothing there."

"What do you mean?"

"The man was headless! He had no head."

An average individual would be shocked by Dil's revelation. Lil, however, was quite calm. It was almost as though she had heard incidences like Dil's before. "That's interesting," she said.

"And then this individual raised the back of his hand. A black gloved hand, like he was going to hit me. But before he could strike me, I woke up."

Lil rapped her pen against he notes. "Quite interesting, Dil."

"I'm sure Doctor Freud would say that I want to have sex with my mother or something like that."

Lil smirked. "Thank God, I'm not him."

"So what do you say?"

Lil took a drink of water. "First, is what you told me the truth to the best of your ability?"

Dil nodded. "Yes."

"Okay, before I give you my opinion on your dream, I have something else to tell you."

"What's that?"

"It relates to your statements about how you wish you would have died instead of Dezirae; how you think you're a lousy father; and how your bandmates would be able to carry on without you."

Dil nodded. "Okay."

"You don't know how Dezirae would have reacted, if you weren't here. And think of how we would feel, if you weren't here—your childhood friends? Also, what about how your brother, your parents, or your grandmother would feel? As for your band, for all you know without Dil Pickles, Dark Stairway is dead."

"A band is more than just one person, Lil."

"Exactly! Which is what I'm trying to get you to see. If you weren't here, think of all the people you would be affecting. I may not be an expert on your music, but I do know that when one member of Led Zeppelin died, there was no more Led Zeppelin."

Dil smiled. "That's true."

"Plus, Dil, I've seen you multiple times with your daughter. Blaer adores you, and I know that you adore her."

Dil maintained his smile. "That's very true."

Lil returned the smile. "You're a great father, Dil—much better than Ian's father, Seth."

Dil continued to smile.

"And if you weren't here, Blaer would never get the chance to experience the things that she gets to with you. I realize that you could say the same thing about Dezirae, but think of it this way. What if you had died? Dezirae could tell me a similar story to what you told me, but with the main difference that it would involve you not being here."

Dil sighed. "I suppose that's true."

Lil took a drink of water. "As for your dream, I need to ask you something, before I give my judgment on it."

"What's that?"

"I remember once that you considered yourself to be an Episcopalian. Do you still maintain your Christian beliefs?"

Dil sighed. "In name, I suppose."

"But in practice?"

"Not really—not that I ever really was, but I seemed to be a lot more active, when Dezirae was around."

Lil nodded. "Well, here's the judgment that I can give to your dream. Now, I'm not saying that this is 'the answer', but I am basing it on what I know about you, and from my psychological studies, where we have examined dreams."

Dil nodded. "Okay."

"The short answer, Dil, is that it goes back to Dezirae, and your longing for her, but there's more to it than that."

"Which is?"

"I think you realize Dezirae is not coming back. Yet, I think you struggle with accepting that fact. In short, that's what I think your dream represents, Dil."

Dil rapped his fingers against his stomach. "You're a pretty girl, Lil. But I have to ask you, how can you make such a judgment?"

For a moment, Lil was taken aback. She was stunned to be called 'pretty' by Dil. However, Lil's professionalism quickly returned. "Your moodiness reflects the loss of Dezirae. I think you'd agree with me on that. Blaer's appearance in your dream reflects that role with Dezirae. You want Dezirae to come to Blaer; yet she can't, and I think the monster with the machete represents this frustration. As for the headless figure, I think that he represents that your brain isn't where your heart is. Your brain tells you that Dezirae is gone; yet your heart struggles to accept this."

Dil was stunned. He did not know how accurate Lil's interpretations were, but so much of what she said did reflect his true feelings. Dil sighed. "In many respects...you're right."

Lil placed a hand on Dil's shoulder. She noticed that Dil was becoming emotional. "It's all right, if you need to cry."

Dil shook his head. Lil's comforting touch returned him to normal. "I've cried for too long, Lil. I need to stop."

Lil nodded. "I think that when you've reconciled where your heart and head is you'll be fine."

Once Lil completed her statement, she turned to her wall clock. The time was five in the evening. "Well, Dil, this is the end of our session."

Dil sat upright on the couch.

"There are other questions that I'd like to ask you, but this is the end of the day for me."

"Perhaps you can ask me them at The Friendly Tap?"

"Right now?!"

Dil laughed. "No, not right now, but maybe tomorrow afternoon?"

"What about Blaer?"

"She's going to be spending most of the day with Kirk—lucky him."

Lil giggled.

"But if I hear anything about him kissing my daughter, then it's going to be 'unlucky him'," Dil said with a smile.

Lil laughed. "How about tomorrow at three then?"

Dil maintained his smile. "Sounds good."

Lil gave Dil a look. "This isn't exactly a 'date' is it now, Dylan?"

Dil grinned. "Sure, Lillian, it's a date with the 'Heavy Metal King David'."

Lil laughed. "Are you going to wear your robe?"

"Which one?" replied Dil, while he maintained his grin.

"The red in black one."

"I think that can be arranged."

Lil chuckled. "All right, see you tomorrow, Dil."

"See you then, Lil."

As Dil left Lil's office, Lil thought, _"It looks like I brought back some of the 'old Dil'. And I have to admit that he's quite the character—even though I've always known that. But what I never really noticed is how charming he can be. I suppose that Phil and I dropping him on his head, when he was little, was maybe a good thing."_


	8. Dil and Lil at The Friendly Tap

**Author's Note**: Greetings, everyone! Well, I have said before, 'This is the longest chapter I've written', well this one actually is. This chapter is longer than any chapter I have written for this story, and any chapter that I wrote for the previous story. There was just quite frankly a lot to discuss. And for those who might remember an 'imaginary alien' named Izzy, from an _All Grown Up_ episode, his name is actually referenced in this chapter. As usual, I ask you to read and write some critical reviews.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter VIII**

On Saturday about fifteen minutes until three o'clock in the afternoon, Dil arrived at The Friendly Tap. Dil wore a Grave Digger t-shirt with the artwork from their album, _Rheingold_, and around Dil's shoulders was his gym bag.

Behind the bar stood a man in his late 20s with long hair and a goatee. "What's with the bag, Dil?" asked the man. "Are you coming back from the gym?"

Dil smiled. "Not quite, Nate. I actually used my stairmaster at home today, since I had to drop Blaer off at the home of one of my childhood friends. By the way, your shirt," Dil added with a gesture to Nate's shirt, "what does it refer to?"

Nate wore a shirt that read, 'I Shaved My Balls for this Shit?!' He grinned, and gestured to the patrons. "The 'shit' that it refers to is putting up with all of you."

Dil smirked. "Makes sense."

Nate smiled. "That is does."

"By the way, do you care if I put this in the closet?" Dil asked, as he held his gym bag.

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks," said Dil, while he placed his gym bag in the bar's closet. As he did so, he noticed something. "That's interesting," added Dil.

"What's that?" asked Nate.

"A record player," replied Dil, while he closed the door.

"Yeah, we've decided to start having a vinyl night, since records are making such a big comeback."

Dil nodded. "That they are. Besides, the sound quality on a record is so much better than on a CD."

"True," said Nate. "Anyway, Dil, what'll it be?"

Dil rapped his fingers against the bar. "Decisions, decisions…how 'bout a Diet Coke?"

"A Diet Coke?!"

Dil smirked. "Well, yeah."

"Well, that's a change from the norm," said Nate, while he prepared Dil's Diet Coke.

Dil chuckled. "Well, I've got a friend coming to see me. Plus, I have to pick up my daughter later."

As Dil finished his sentence, some fingers gently worked their way along his spine. Dil turned, and discovered that the owner of the fingers was Lil DeVille. Lil wore jean shorts with a blue tank top. "Oh, look," Dil began, while he wrapped an arm around Lil, "my guest has arrived!"

Lil giggled. "I thought you were going to wear your robe?"

"Oh, it's getting dry-cleaned," Dil replied with a smile.

Lil laughed.

"Is there something I can get for you, Miss?" asked Nate.

"Oh, I'll have a margarita," said Lil.

"Do you want salt and a lime?"

"Yes, please."

"Can I see your ID first?"

Lil showed Nate her ID, and Nate confirmed that Lil was of age.

"Lil," began Dil, "this is Nate. He's the daytime bartender here at The Friendly Tap."

"Nice to meet you, Nate," said Lil.

"Nice to meet you as well," said Nate. "Oh, and Dil!" added Nate, while he worked on Lil's drink.

"Yeah?"

"I've got some news for you that I thought you would find interesting."

"What's that?"

"Well, you know that we're under new management?"

Dil nodded. "Yeah, I know that."

"Well, one of the new owners, Grady, he's actually a fan of hard rock/heavy metal. Eric told him how you always wanted to play here, and Grady seems to be pretty cool with the idea. So what do you think?"

Dil laughed, and clapped his hands. "I think it's funny."

"It is?"

Dil nodded. "I always wanted Dark Stairway to play here; we get a record deal; and now we get to play here."

Nate chuckled. "Well, I'm not exactly the one who books the bands, Dil."

Dil smiled. "True."

Nate handed Lil her margarita. "Here you are, ma'am. Would you like to pay, or shall I start you a tab?"

"Add that one to my tab," answered Dil. "I'm buying it."

"Well, that can be done," said Nate, while he marked the drink on Dil's tab.

"Wow! Thanks, Dil," said Lil.

"My pleasure…but you're buying the next one," Dil added with a smirk.

Lil laughed. "I think I can take care of that."

"Oh, I thought I'd show you something."

"What's that?"

Dil removed his iPhone and said, "I sent this to Dad and Tommy earlier today."

"What is it?"

"Something I recorded this morning. Nate, you have a look at this to."

"Sure, okay, Dil," said Nate.

Dil showed Lil and Nate a video of his daughter in her playpen. Blaer was jumping to Manowar's 'Sign of the Hammer', while wearing her diaper and nightshirt.

"Aww," began Lil, "that's so cute!"

"You didn't stage that, did you, Dil?" asked Nate.

"Nope," replied Dil. "I had one of my Pandora stations going, while I was making breakfast for myself and Blaer. 'Sign of the Hammer' came on, and I saw Blaer jumping up and down in her playpen to the music."

Nate chuckled. "I could just see her, when she gets ready for school. The kids will be wearing these generic shirts, and here will be Blaer Pickles wearing some metal shirt."

Dil smirked. "Yeah, I can just imagine getting calls from the principal, and then I'll have to inform him or her that he or she is evil and does not understand heavy metal."

"Unless it's Pangborn," interjected Lil.

Dil maintained his smirk. "Lil, you know Pangborn's never going to do anything like that to his granddaughter."

Lil chuckled. "You're probably right."

"You should bring your daughter sometime in here, Dil," said Nate.

"I did once, but it has been some time ago. Maybe I will again in the near future. Anyway," Dil continued, while he turned to Lil, "I thought that we'd do something."

"What's that?"

"Play a little music."

Dil left his place at the bar, and gestured for Lil to follow.

Lil did so.

Dil directed Lil to the digital jukebox at the back of the bar. "Okay, here's how it goes. I'm going to put some money in and play a song. Then you're going to play a song, and this will go back and forth, until we run out of credits."

"Okay, can I pick whatever songs I want?"

Dil nodded. "Sure, you can pick whatever songs you want."

"Even the 'evil' non-metal songs?" Lil asked with a grin.

Dil paused. "Yes, even those songs."

Lil smiled.

Dil inserted some money and began a super search. "Damn it!"

"What's wrong?"

"Somehow Rainbow's 'Stargazer' is no longer on here." Dil turned to the bar area. "Hey, Nate?"

"Yeah, Dil?"

"What happened to Rainbow's 'Stargazer'? It's no longer on here."

"I can't control what's on a satellite jukebox, Dil."

Dil nodded. "Thanks, Nate." Dil returned his attention to the jukebox and added, "Okay, what to play now?" Dil settled on Motorhead's 'Ace of Spades'. "All right then," Dil began, while he turned to Lil, "you pick a song. I'll step out of the way, so I don't see, which song it is."

"Okay," Lil said, before she chose a song on the jukebox.

The pattern of Dil choosing a song and Lil choosing a song went back and forth, until the two ran out of credits. Lil, however, had the final pick.

"Well, Lil," began Dil, "I've got to use the bathroom, so I'll see you back at the bar."

"Okay, Dil."

With Lil at the jukebox, Dil grabbed his gym bag from the closet and entered the men's room. Inside his gym bag was his black and scarlet robe. As Dil dressed, the first of Lil's songs began to play. The song was one Dil was quite familiar with—he helped compose it. The song in question was Dark Stairway's 'Nicky and Alix'. Dil chuckled.

When Dil emerged from the men's room, another patron waited to use it. This patron was stunned by Dil's appearance. But Dil merely smiled, and said, "It's unoccupied."

A wall separated the restrooms from the bar area, but when Dil emerged within sight of the patrons, their reaction equaled the reaction of the patron who waited to use the bathroom. Lil was not one of those patrons. She laughed. So did Nate.

Dil extended his arms, as though he was on stage. Then he began to sing: "'From Peter's city to Catherine's city, the love between us shall be perpetually pretty!'"

Again, Lil laughed, while Dil wrapped his arms around her at the bar. "I wasn't expecting you to play a song that I wrote."

Lil smirked. "I wasn't exactly expecting the hug either."

"Well, you got it."

Lil smiled.

Dil returned the smile. "You didn't play a song from Dark Stairway to impress me, did you?"

Lil laughed. "No, no, I actually like it. A fan made an excellent video about it on YouTube that was really moving."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, it showed clips from the _Nicholas and Alexandra_ movie from the 1970s."

Dil sighed. "Too bad it didn't show any scenes from Tommy's movie."

"Whoever made it probably didn't have a chance to," Lil said, before she took a sip of her margarita. "I doubt whoever it was could get access to clips from Tommy's movie."

Dil nodded. "That's probably true."

"Does it…"

Lil's sentence was cut short, when an outside voice exclaimed, "Holy shit, that's Dil Pickles!"

Dil and Lil turned. The voice belonged to a man, who certainly would not pass the age test for receiving a drink. Behind this man were two other individuals around the same age—one man and one woman.

Dil smiled.

Nate, however, was not particularly fond of their presence. "Can I help you?"

"We just wanted to see, if that was Dil Pickles," responded the man, who seemed to act as their 'spokesperson'.

"Well, you can see that it is, and I can tell you that he's quite busy right now."

"Hold on a second, Nate," interjected Dil. Dil turned to the teenagers and said, "Would you guys like an autograph or a picture real quick?"

"Well, both would be…"

"No," Dil began, while he shook his head, "it's either one or the other."

The young man paused. "How 'bout a picture then?"

Dil nodded. "All right, sounds good. We'll do this outside on the front patio of the bar." Before he left the bar, he turned to Lil and said, "I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay."

From inside the bar, Lil watched Dil pose for photographs with the teenagers. "I wonder, if that bothers him?"

"That's why I tried to get rid of them," responded Nate. "Dil came here to have a good time with you."

Lil turned back to the scene. "He sure seems to be enjoying himself."

Nate nodded. "I have seen Dil perform live before at some of the clubs around here. He always enjoyed it, when patrons would come up, and talk to him during breaks."

Lil nodded. "I saw him live once too. In fact, it was the night that he met his future wife."

"Dezirae?"

Again, Lil nodded.

"Yeah, he really did love her. I don't think he's totally been the same without her."

Lil took a sip of her margarita. "Yet, the way he's been today is like the way he used to be."

Nate nodded. "Yes, it is."

As Nate completed his sentence another song began to play—Grave Digger's 'Maidens of War'.

"And it seems odd, but there's a part of me that's…"

Lil did not have a chance to finish her sentence. Dil returned to the bar.

"Sorry about that," said Dil. "Besides those teenagers, someone else came up to me."

"Yeah, I saw that," said Lil.

"This guy wanted an autograph, but he also turned out to be a sound guy. We need a good sound guy. When we toured with Iron Maiden, we had to use their sound guy-which was cool, in a way, because it's Iron Maiden, but we need our own sound man." Dil finished his soda and added, "And besides needing a sound guy, I also need a 'real drink'."

Lil laughed.

So did Nate. "What'll it be, Dil?"

"Pitcher of Bud Light."

"Well, I can do that, Dil," Nate said, while he grabbed an empty pitcher.

"A pitcher of Bud Light?!" said Lil. "You're going to drink all of that by yourself?!"

Dil chuckled. "Well, yeah. It's cheaper."

"Here you go, Dil," Nate said, as he handed Dil his pitcher and a cold glass.

"Thanks, Nate. I'll be back in a second. I think I'm going to remove my robe."

"Might not make you as recognizable," said Nate.

"That's the name of the game," said Dil, as he left for the men's room.

Nate looked at Lil's margarita glass. It was becoming empty. "Would you like another one?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Would you like it prepared the same?"

'Yes, please."

As Nate fixed the drink, he asked, "I might be off on things, but I thought there was something you were about to say, before Dil returned?"

"Oh, no," responded Lil. "I think I was just rambling."

Nate nodded.

But in her thoughts, Lil said, _"I don't want to say what I was about to say earlier with Dil being too close by."_

"Back to wearing the Grave Digger," Dil said, as he returned to the bar.

Lil smiled. "There was something Nate and I were talking about earlier."

"What's that?" asked Dil, while he placed his gym bag around the barstool.

"When people come to you asking for an autograph or a picture, does it ever bother you?"

Dil poured himself a glass and replied, "No, it does not bother me. I'd rather have them talk to me, than ignore me. I'm a fan of metal, just as they are. When I saw the members of Iron Maiden for the first time directly in front of me, I can tell you that I was very similar. Maybe not quite as ecstatic, but I was similar. Plus, you have to remember, if it wasn't for those fans, I wouldn't have the success that I have today ."

Lil smiled. "What was it like touring with Iron Maiden?"

"It was wonderful. I got to see places around the world that most people never get to see in their lifetime." Dil paused to take a drink. "But now that you mention it, I did just think of something odd about it."

"What's that?"

"I'm the grandson of a World War II veteran, and I was playing in Japan."

Lil giggled. "Maybe the man, who shinned the laser pointer at you, was the grandson of a World War II veteran as well?"

Dil smirked. "So you heard about that incident, huh?"

Lil chuckled. "Yeah, I did. It got posted on the internet. I saw you leap off the stage."

Dil took another drink and grinned. "Maybe his grandpa fought my grandpa during the war, and we were on this 'thread of life' to meet up one day in Tokyo?"

"You never know," Lil said with a smile.

As Lil completed her statement, another song played on the jukebox—The Scorpions' 'Wind of Change'. Lil had chosen it.

Dil, however, responded to the song with a smirk. "The Scorpions are whistling."

"I thought you like The Scorpions?"

Dil took a drink. "I do; I just don't like some of their 'lovey dovey' stuff. This song isn't a bad song, and the meaning behind it is very unique, but I kind of put it in between 'lovey dovey Scorpions' and 'good metal Scorpions'. Ironically, the next song I played is a Scorpions song. You'll see the difference very quickly."

Lil smiled. "You'll have to educate me on metal."

Dil returned the smile. "I think I can do that."

Lil took a sip of her margarita. "The reason why I chose this song is because I remember a roommate playing it at college."

"Well, it's a good song," Dil said, while he maintained his smile.

"Oh! There was something that I wanted to ask you earlier."

"What's that?"

"When I played one of your songs earlier, does it ever bother you to hear yourself sing?"

Dil shook his head, while he refilled his beer glass. "No, it doesn't bother me to hear myself sing. If it did, then I probably shouldn't be singing. However, I don't play my music around my house. If one of my songs comes on one of my Pandora stations, I don't turn it off, but I don't have a 'Dark Stairway channel' as one of my Pandora stations." Dil looked at Lil's recently full margarita glass and added with a smirk, "You didn't charge that one to me, did you?"

Lil laughed. "Well, of course, I did."

Dil grinned. "Figures."

Again, Lil laughed. "No, I didn't. But I haven't actually paid for it yet."

Dil smiled. "I'll buy it."

"You don't have to do that, Dil."

Dil maintained his smile. "I've made up my mind."

Once again, Lil laughed.

"Nate?" began Dil.

"Yeah, Dil?"

"Charge Lil's other margarita to me."

"Okay, will do!"

Lil smiled. "You know, I just thought of something."

"What's tha…" Dil did not have time to finish his sentence. 'Wind of Change' from The Scorpions ended, and Dil's song from The Scorpions replaced it. "Now this is 'metal Scorpions'," he said to Lil with a headbanger gesture.

Lil giggled. "And what song is this?"

Dil took a drink. "It's called 'Virgin Killer'. The original album artwork still scares the shit out of people."

"Why?"

"It has the image of a ten-year-old girl nude on the cover, and where her vagina would be is a piece of shattered glass, so no one can see it."

"And you can't see why that might not bother people?"

"The album came out forty years ago. I look at it to be no different than a nude portrait of Venus."

"Would you allow Blaer to pose that way?"

Dil took another drink. "Absolutely not! Blaer's my daughter, but this was someone else's daughter. Besides, I'm not going to dwell on an album cover that came out around 14-15 years, before I was born." Dil took another drink and added, "Anyway, you mentioned earlier that you just thought of something. What was it?"

Lil took a drink. "Well, this came to me earlier. Somehow, I just thought about something from the past."

"From the past?"

Lil nodded. "Back when we were in junior high, I remembered how you created this imaginary alien friend named 'Izzy', and people actually thought that he was real, until you told them that it was all made up."

Dil smirked, before he took a drink of her beer. "You know, I didn't completely lie about that."

"You didn't?"

Before Dil could respond to Lil's question, another song became to play on the jukebox. This time it was Tom Petty's 'Room at the Top'. Dil smirked. "Decided to play a little Petty, did ya?"

Lil smiled. "I remember somebody playing this one night at a club, and I really enjoyed it. I went home, and played it on YouTube so much that I started singing."

"Oh, you can sing?"

"Well, sort of."

Dil smiled. "Come then, sing me the lyrics."

Lil blushed, but she did start to sing. Lil sang in a low voice, because she did not want people to hear her.

Dil maintained his smile. "Not bad, but next time do you think that you might try to sing a little louder?"

"Dil, I'm not a professional singer!"

Dil laughed. "Neither am I."

Lil shot Dil a look.

Again, Dil laughed. "Look, I thought you did a good job."

Lil smiled. "Anyway, could you tell me how you didn't lie about the whole 'Izzy thing'?"

"Oh, that! Sorry, Tom Petty distracted me."

Lil chuckled.

Dil smiled, before he took another drink. "Anyway, the stuff that I said about Izzy not being real, I only said that to help Chuckie get elected safety commissioner, but I didn't exactly 'make Izzy up'."

Lil was confused. "Okay?"

"But I was wrong about some things."

"Such as?"

"Izzy wasn't actually an alien—at least not how we commonly perceive of aliens to be. Izzy, I think, was a voice from the Silver Mountain."

"The Silver Mountain?"

Dil nodded. "Yeah, I didn't notice it at first, but I noticed it years later, or at least I thought that I did."

_"I have often wondered, if Dil's being serious, or if he is just trying to play a theatrical role,"_ thought Lil. _"I'll play along a little bit with him_…When was it that you thought that you noticed that Izzy was this creature from the 'Silver Mountain'?"

"I think it was, when I was 14 and at the DIO concert. When Dio gave me a 'shout out' at that show, I felt something. I felt Dio, yes, but I also felt Izzy." Dil paused to take a drink. "Somehow I think Izzy long ago was acting as a force that would help push me to become what I eventually became."

"Which is?"

Dil gave Lil a look. "The 'Heavy Metal King David'."

Lil chuckled. "So what exactly is this 'Silver Mountain'?"

"It's a…" Dil's sentence was cut short. DIO's 'The Last in Line' began to play on the jukebox. Dil smirked. "It's ironic that you asked me that question, right before Dio started to play. Perhaps it's a blessing from Dio?"

Lil returned the smirk. "Perhaps—anyway, what exactly is this Silver Mountain?"

"It's a wonderful place. Dio reigns there. The beer is always cold; the women are always beautiful; nobody gets a hangover; and there's plenty of heavy metal music. Why I am certain that right now Jon Lord and Ray Manzarek are having a 'keyboard battle'."

"You place The Doors as heavy metal?"

"Well no, I'd place them as more hard rock, but Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek are on the Silver Mountain."

_"I think I might be able to catch Dil contradicting himself,"_ thought Lil with a smile. "You know, Dil, I have another question for you?"

"What's that?"

"You said that Dio reigns on this Silver Mountain, and that Izzy was a voice from the Silver Mountain. But how can this be true, since when you had your first encounter with Izzy, Ronnie James Dio was alive and well?"

Dil took a drink. "Sorry, I can't answer for you. I don't have all the answers."

_"He's not bad,"_ thought Lil with a smirk. "Perhaps you should ask Dio for the answer?"

Dil nodded. "Perhaps I should."

"Do you talk to him often?"

Dil shook his head. "Not often, no."

"Do you really talk to him, Dil?" asked Lil with a look.

Dil smiled. "On some occasions I do, and on some occasions I do not. I prefer talking to Dio to be a matter of multiple choice."

Lil smiled, and in her thoughts added, _"Looks like Dil enjoys talking in riddles. Of course, this is the Dil that I grew up with, and that is good to see."_

"So," began Dil, while he poured himself another beer, "you've been asking me a number of questions, but I know that you wanted to ask me questions from the other day? Dio's music is beginning to fade out, and yours will soon play, so I hope that I will be the one shinning through your questions."

Lil took a drink of her margarita. "Actually throughout our conversation, I asked you the questions that I wanted to ask you."

"Did I shine?"

Lil chuckled. "Of course, you shinned."

Dil smiled. "Thanks."

Lil returned the smile. "A lot of what I saw today is the Dil Pickles that I remembered from the past. That was the Dil, I wanted to bring back."

Dil maintained his smile, but his expression quickly changed. DIO's 'The Last in Line' ended, and the last song on the jukebox began to play. That song was chosen by Lil, and it was 'Where the Wind Blows' from Coco O. "The fuck," murmured Dil.

"Hey, Dil, did you choose this?" joked Nate.

"Fuck no!" replied Dil.

Nate laughed.

And Lil blushed. "Don't like this one, do you?"

Dil grinned wickedly and began to chuckle. He grabbed the bar, and his hands started to shake. "Not exactly."

"You're not mad at me playing it, when, after all, you said that I could play anything that I wanted?" asked Lil, while she twirled a curl of Dil's long hair.

The gesture made Dil relax. "No, no, I'm not mad," he said with a smile.

Lil returned the smile. "You know, one day Blaer might listen to this type of music."

"That's not going to happen," Dil said matter-of-factly, before he took a drink.

"And what makes you think so?"

"She will hopefully be raised better than that."

"Just like Stu and Didi were asked a similar question about their young son, Dylan, in the early '90s, while a Dio song played in the background," Lil said with a smirk.

Dil chuckled. "Not that I could ever imagine Dad and Mom at a place where Dio's music would be playing."

Lil laughed, and kissed Dil's cheek.

"What was that for?" asked a stunned Dil.

"You just looked so cute for a second. The metal head with hip hop playing around him."

Dil blushed. "Thanks."

"Still," began Lil, "you're certainly the 'Dil of old'."

Dil smiled. "I have to thank you for that. I tried to follow through with some of your advice today."

"What do you mean?"

"You may not have noticed it, but something is missing from one of my fingers." Dil put a hand in his pocket and removed a ring. He showed the ring to Lil.

"That's your wedding, isn't it?"

Dil nodded. "I took it off earlier today."

"How did that come about?"

Dil took another drink. "After I dropped Blaer off at Chuckie and Ashley's, I went to the cemetery and to Dezirae's grave. I told Dezirae that I will always love her, but that I had to move on." Dil took another drink and added, "That's when I took off my wedding ring."

Lil smiled, and touched Dil's hand. "I'm sure that was hard for you."

Dil nodded. "It was."

"But sometimes those things need to be done. It's a way of helping you with the closure that you need."

With his freehand, Dil returned the touch. "That's true, and it was my way of saying goodbye to her."

Lil smiled—she gave Dil a hug, and kissed his cheek.

Dil returned the smile and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," said Lil.

"But you seem to enjoy kissing my cheeks a lot," Dil added, before he gave Lil a quick kiss on the cheek.

Lil blushed.

Lil and Dil finished the last of their drinks, as Lil's song came to a close.

"Looks like that's the last of our music," said Lil.

"That it is—whatever it is that you played. Anyway, I guess it's time for me to pay my tab, and pick up Blaer at the Finsters'. What's your evening going to be like?"

"I don't know. I really didn't plan to do anything this evening."

Dil nodded. "Mine's just going to be spent with Blaer, but I really enjoyed spending my time today with you, Lil. I'd like for this to happen again."

Lil smiled. "Same here."

"I'm not sure what will be next on my agenda, because I'm going to be working with the band on making a brand new album, but I'm sure that I'll be free this next weekend."

"Great! Let me know."

"Care if I text you?"

Lil laughed. "Of course, you can text me!"

Dil smiled. "Thanks. Shall I escort you to your car, or do you plan on staying around for a while?"

Lil chuckled. "No, I'm leaving."

"Well, come then! Let's go!"

With his gym bag over his shoulders, Dil held out his arm in a manner that men used to escort women to dinner during the early decades of the 20th century. Lil chuckled, and grabbed Dil's arm, but the two eventually switched to holding hands. At Lil's car, the two chatted briefly, before Dil leaned forward and kissed Lil. She did not refuse.


	9. Old Memories Don't Fade So Easily

**Author's Note**: Hey, everyone! This chapter took me a little while to work out what I wanted to work out. Like the previous chapter, this one has quite a bit of length. Not quite as long as the previous chapter, but certainly quite long. But I think it also contains some great dialogue, and a little bit of suspense—particularly at the end. For those who have been with me so far, I ask you to please continue to read, and to continue to give me some critical reviews.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter IX**

Much of Dark Stairway's creativity came in the homes of each particular member of the group. However, when it came time to 'create something official'—such as a new album—the band often met at Andrew's home. Andrew had a recording studio in his basement.

"Well," began Chris, "it looks like we worked out the 'bugs' in this song, so what should we call it?"

On Chris's question, the rest of Dark Stairway's members turned to Dil.

Dil laughed. "Ah, yes, everyone turns to me."

"That's because you're the person, who usually comes up with the song titles," said Andrew.

"Plus, you did write most of the lyrics," added Johnny.

Dil paused, and wrote what the song title would be on a piece of paper. Then he passed that piece of paper to Andrew.

"'A New Beginning'?" said Andrew, before he passed the piece of paper on to the other members of the band.

Dil nodded. "The lyrics that I wrote were in reference to Dezirae."

The name 'Dezirae' made the other members of Dark Stairway nervous. They feared that Dil was going to quickly change moods. Yet Dil's mood remained the same.

Because Dil's mood did not change, a curious Andrew asked, "What do you mean?"

"I've come to accept the fact that Dezirae's gone. I have to move on. The lyrics that I wrote reflected on that fact."

The other members of Dark Stairway nodded.

"I'm sure it's hard for you," said Andrew.

Dil nodded. "It is, but I've come to accept it."

Andrew returned the nod. "Well now, why don't we discuss our first order of business?"

"Which is?" said James.

"Which is the show that we're going to play next month," responded Andrew. "Dil has arranged for us to play at The Friendly Tap."

"How did you pull that one off, Dil?" asked Johnny.

Dil smiled. "New ownership."

"But I thought we could do something special," continued Andrew.

"Such as?" said Chris.

"Such as having a local band opening for us."

"Anyone you have in mind?" asked Dil.

Andrew nodded. "Yes, there is a band called Green-Eyed that I happened to hear one night at The Nightlife. They are playing at The Nightlife this Friday. I thought that it might be interesting, if we all arrived at separate times, and observed them. And if we think that they're good enough, then we'll let them open for us at The Friendly Tap."

Johnny nodded. "That sounds reasonable enough."

"I thought so too, so with that being said, I think we should turn to our second order of business, which is to discuss what song we should cover for _Volume III_? What does everybody suggest? For myself, I would like to cover Iron Maiden's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'."

"Damn, that would be a long cover," said Chris. "For myself, I'd like to cover Led Zeppelin's 'Dazed and Confused'. I love the bass on that song."

"You may love John Paul Jones's bass," began Johnny, "but I love Cozy Powell's drums. Therefore, I suggest Rainbow's 'Stargazer'."

James chuckled. "Well, since we're picking instruments, my choice is Grave Digger's 'Yesterday'."

Dil, who had yet to give his choice, smirked. "Well, I'm not going to choose anything based on a particular instrument—be it vocals or whatnot. But my choice is Iced Earth's 'The Phantom Opera Ghost'."

Dil's suggested led to some mumbling among his fellow bandmates. His choice was not one they were expecting.

"That's a duet song," said Johnny. "To cover that song, we'd have to find a female singer to sing Christine's part."

Dil nodded. "Yes, I know that."

"And do you know a female singer that can sing Christine's part?" asked Chris.

"Yes," replied Dil.

"And who would that be?" asked Andrew.

"Lil. Lil DeVille."

The other members of Dark Stairway chuckled.

"What makes you think that she'd be good for the part?" asked James.

"I heard her sing once. She was in tune."

"What did she sing?" asked Andrew.

"Some song from Tom Petty, I don't remember which one."

"Our music is different from Tom Petty's," said Chris.

Dil chuckled. "Yes, Chris, I know that. I doubt that the girl, who sang on the Iced Earth album with Matt Barlow, was a metal fan either, but she obviously did okay."

"Can she read music?" asked Johnny.

"I don't know, but that's not really a big deal. So long as she can hit the notes and remain in tune."

Andrew played a quick riff on his guitar. "I don't know, if it's a good idea, Dil. Perhaps we could ask that other childhood friend of yours, Susie, to play the role?"

"The pop singer?" said Chris.

"She is a professional singer," added Johnny.

"Yes, she is," said Dil. "Of course, I think Susie's schedule is slightly booked up for a while, so it would take a long time to get her to come in and sing the role—assuming that she would do so. Also, going after another professional singer would cost us a lot of money. With Lil, we can pay her a session's musician role—assuming that she works out okay for us."

The other band members seemed to be in agreement with Dil's fiscal idea.

"Why don't we give it a shot?" said James. "If it doesn't work out, we can always do something different."

Andrew, Johnny, and Chris nodded in agreement.

Dil smiled. "I'll call Lil on this sometime later. Besides, I told her that I was going to find something for us to do this weekend."

"You've been seeing her?" asked Andrew.

"Eh, sort of," Dil replied with a smirk.

"Now I see why you want her to sing with you," Andrew said with a grin.

Dil laughed. "No, she actually is quite good."

Andrew smiled. "Well, I guess all of us will find out about that soon." But in his thoughts, Andrew said, _"I guess he must really be over Dezirae. Otherwise, there is no way that Dil would bother seeing anybody."_

* * *

During Lil's final semester of graduate school, she began keeping a journal, and she had more or less been faithful to it. When she returned home on Tuesday, Lil wrote her latest entry:

_April 12, 2016:_

_ I've been a little tardy with my entries. I haven't written one since Friday. We had some scattered showers today, which was nice. I have to admit that I always like how it feels, after it rains in this town._

_ I suppose my biggest news to report is Dil. I'm about two years older than he is, and yet, I'm attracted to him. In high school, such things are often 'taboo', but I'm no longer in high school. However, I'm not quite sure, when this attraction began. I could always spot Dil in high school—with his long red hair and metal shirts. Yet, I wasn't attracted to him. I always seemed to like guys with short hair, and I'm not really a fan of heavy metal music. Yet, that night I saw Dil perform, back in October 2012, I have to admit that I found his hair attractive—perhaps that was when it came? I remember Dil tossing his hair, and him beaming at the crowd. He was just such a presence on stage. I have heard Dil say many times that a band is a band, and one person is only as good as the people he or she plays with. But what I saw that night showed me that Dark Stairway __is__ Dil Pickles. Of course, the night in question was also the night Dil fell in love with Dezirae, and I pretty much just put my feelings away, but fate has changed things. Dezirae is gone now, and the attraction that I felt for Dil on that night has returned._

_ In my last entry, I mentioned how Dil and I were going to meet at The Friendly Tap on Saturday. I mentioned how Dil joked that he would show up wearing his robe. He wasn't joking—he wore it! It was the same robe that he wore long ago, when I first saw him perform. And when he wrapped his arms around me, my heart skipped a few beats. It was a fun day. Dil is just such a fun loving guy that I am glad to see back in him. He often went through periods of depression after Dezirae's death, and now the Dil that I remembered from my teenage years has returned. I had so much fun with him that when he leaned in and kissed me, when we were leaving The Friendly Tap, I didn't balk at all. It was the natural thing to do. And I must say, he's a damn good kisser!_

As Lil's journal entry came to an end, her cellphone rang. On her Caller ID was Dil's number. "Hi, Dil!"

"Hey, Lil! I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."

"No, not at all, what's going on?"

"A couple of things actually. First, what are you doing this Friday evening?"

"To the best of my knowledge, nothing. Why?"

"How would you like to come to The Nightlife with me? There's a band that Andrew wants me to see."

"Sure, I'll go with you. What time?"

"The band starts at nine, but I was thinking that we arrive at the club shortly after that."

"Okay, that sounds good."

Dil nodded. "Great, now let me turn to the second thing that I wanted to talk to you about."

"What's that?"

"Well, as you know, we've been working on a new studio album…"

"Dark Stairway _Volume III_," interjected Lil.

Dil smiled. "It worked for Zeppelin."

Lil chuckled. "Yes, I know about it. So what's going on?"

"Well, I was wondering…"

Dil's sentence was cut short, but an outside voice that said, "Daddy! Daddy!"

"Just a minute, baby," Dil attempted to say away from the receiver, while he ran some fingers through Blaer's hair.

Lil, of course, overheard Dil's message to his daughter and began giggling. "I take it Miss Blaer's around?"

Dil smiled. "Yeah, she's pulling on my jeans right now."

"Care if I talk to her?"

"Sure, you can talk to her, so long as I put this thing on speakerphone."

"Go right ahead."

Dil sat on the floor, and placed Blaer on his lap. With his daughter secure, Dil placed his cellphone on the floor, and turned on its speakerphone. "Are you present and accounted for, Lil?"

Lil chuckled. "Yes, Dil, I am."

Dil smiled. "Blaer, meet Lil. Lil meet Blaer."

"Hewwo," said Blaer.

Again, Lil chuckled. "Hi, Blaer, we've met many times before at the Java Lava, when your Grandma Didi and Grandpa Pangborn brings you in."

Blaer displayed a look that reflected 'deep thought'.

Dil smiled. "She's thinking."

Lil laughed.

Dil chuckled. "That's Aunt Betty's daughter, Blaer. We also saw her at Slosh Mountain the other day."

"I ran through the sprinklers with you, Blaer. Remember?"

Blaer beamed and exclaimed, "Lil!"

Dil and Lil laughed.

"That's right," said Lil. "You've got it! So what are you doing right now, Blaer?"

"I want my daddy to pay wit me."

Lil chuckled. "Did you hear that, 'Dad'?"

Dil smirked. "I heard it." Dil turned to his daughter and added, "I'll tell you what, my little strawberry haired girl, if you take off to your room, I will be there, as soon as I get done talking with Lil, and then we can play, okay?"

"'Kay," replied Blaer.

Dil smiled. "That's a good girl. Would you say bye to Lil, before you go?"

"Bye, Lil."

Lil smiled. "Bye, Blaer."

Dil gave Blaer a kiss on her cheek, and a light pat on her bottom to send her on her way. Once Blaer left the room, Dil turned the speakerphone off on his cellphone. "Still there, Lil?"

"Yes."

"Good. We're 'speakerphone less'."

Lil giggled. "You won't have long to talk. Blaer's waiting for you."

Dil smirked. "I know she is. Anyway, back to the topic of our new studio album. I was wondering, if you would like to be part of it?"

"What do you mean?"

"As you know, we always do one cover song on our albums, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, the song I suggested, and the one the band seems to be okay with, is a duet?"

"A duet?"

"Yeah, a duet. In other words, Lil, would you like to sing with me?"

Lil was stunned. "Dil, I'm flattered, but I'm not a metal singer; I'm not even a major metal fan. I don't know, if I…"

"Can do it?" interjected Dil.

"Yeah," nodded Lil.

Dil smiled. "Well, let me describe it this way. I know that you can sing a tune. I don't know, if you can read music or not, but that's not really a big deal for what we're doing. So long as you can hit the notes, and you're timing's right, that's all that matters. You also don't need to be a 'heavy metal singer'. Finally, since it's a studio piece, we'll dub it, and we'll give you some money for being a session musician—assuming that it works out."

"You mean I'll get paid for this?!"

Dil chuckled. "Yes, assuming that we're able to work with you. We're not asking you to do this for free."

"All right then, I'll give this a shot. Where do I need to go, and when would you like me to come by?"

"Do you know where Andrew's place is?"

"Andrew?"

"Our guitarist."

"Oh, yeah, him—no, I don't know where he lives."

"Well, I'll text you the directions. He has a studio in his basement."

"Okay."

"You get off from work tomorrow at five, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, come in sometime after that time. And if you have problems finding Andrew's place, make sure to call me."

"Okay, will do. What song is it that I'm going to sing with you?"

"Iced Earth's 'The Phantom Opera Ghost'."

"Okay, I'll listen to some of it on YouTube to get a feel for it."

Dil nodded. "That's okay, Lil, but please remember that it doesn't have to sound exactly like the original. Make sure to sing it 'your way'—we're kind of putting our own 'spin' on it per say."

"Okay."

Lil was prepared to ask something else, until she heard the word 'Daddy' interjected by Blaer in the background. Lil giggled. "Looks like Blaer is calling you."

Dil smiled. "Yeah, she is. I'd better go. Text me later, Lil."

* * *

The following day after work, Lil arrived at Andrew's home without any trouble-thanks to the great directions Dil gave her. Dil was outside waiting to greet her, when she drove up.

"Hey, there!" Dil said, as Lil exited her car. "It's my duet girl."

Lil smiled, while Dil embraced her. The two held hands briefly and kissed.

Lil maintained her smile. "Have you guys been here for a while?"

"Since noon."

"Who's watching Blaer today?"

"Mom and Dad—she's spending the night with them."

"I'm sure they enjoy having her around."

"They always seem to—especially Mom. I often think that Mom wished that I was born a girl, but since I wasn't, I had to have a girl in order to 'make up for it.'"

Lil chuckled.

And Dil smiled. "Anyway, are you ready to sing?"

"Yeah."

"Well, good let's get started."

Dil took Lil inside the home, and introduced her to the members of Dark Stairway. She had met all of them before, of course, but Dil wanted to reacquaint her with his bandmates. Once the greetings were made, the band got down to business.

The members of Dark Stairway decided that the first day with Lil would be kind of a 'rehearsal'—a rehearsal which produced some positive results. Lil may not have been a professional singer, but she certainly was able to hit the notes, and she was eventually able to get her timing right with the music. After three hours of playing through 'The Phantom Opera Ghost', the band decided that tomorrow they would finish the cover with Lil, and she would receive her fee as a session musician.

* * *

The following day, the members of Dark Stairway and Lil met once again in Andrew's studio. They did one practice run of 'The Phantom Opera Ghost', before they decided to record the real thing. This time, Lil was with the band for approximately an hour, before Dark Stairway decided that they had a good finished product.

With the song completed, Dark Stairway decided to take a break. Lil decided that it was time for her to go, and Dil followed her to her car.

"That was a lot of fun, Dil," Lil said with a smile, while she leaned against her car. "I really enjoyed singing with you." Lil smirked, before she sang some of the words from 'The Phantom Opera Ghost': "'I feel you. From beyond the walls, you speak to me.'"

Dil chuckled, before he started to sing his portion of the song: "'Christine, my love! Paris now will worship you. You will star soon. I'll kill to make it sure for you.'"

The two laughed, as Dil leaned against Lil's car.

Lil smiled, and inched herself a little closer to Dil. "So what are your plans for the rest of the evening?"

"I'll probably work for another hour or so with the band. Then I need to stop by the Pangborns, and pick up Blaer."

"You're not having Blaer spend the night at the Pangborns?"

Dil shook his head. "No, she spent last night with Mom and Dad. Tonight she gets to spend it with her daddy. Of course, tomorrow, she's going to spend the night with the Pangborns."

Lil smiled, and held Dil's hand.

Dil returned the smile.

"You haven't had much time to spend around Blaer, have you?" asked Lil.

Dil sighed. "No, I haven't, and it's one of the things that I hate. But the truth of the matter is I can't have Blaer around, while I'm trying to compose."

"Why not?"

"She's a very active toddler, and her activity often effects my concentration." Dil sighed. "But at least she enjoys her time with her grandparents or being around Kirk, and I take comfort in that."

Lil giggled. "I just thought of something."

"What?"

"We've known each other, since we were little kids, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, so will, I'm certain, Blaer and Kirk. Can you see them doing what we're doing fifteen years from now?"

Dil smirked. "Let's just say that the 'Heavy Metal King David' will morph into the 'Heavy Metal Keep Away from My Daughter King David'."

"You're a good dad, Dil," Lil said with a smile, before she kissed Dil's cheek.

Dil smiled, and pulled Lil close. "Thanks. Sometimes I need to hear that."

"You want to hear something else too?"

"What's that?"

"You're a damn good kisser as well."

Dil grinned. "Thanks, might I give you one of those kisses?"

Lil returned the grin. "You may."

Dil and Lil engaged in a brief round of tongue wrestling. When it concluded, Lil said, "Well, I guess I should get going, so you can get back to working on your album. But before I go, I have another question for you."

"What's that?"

"I'm curious, do you have any idea how much money I'll receive for my 'vocal talents'?"

Dil smiled. "I don't know exactly. I'd say around a thousand—maybe a little bit more."

Lil gasped. "Really?!"

Dil nodded. "It's amazing how much money can be made in this industry, if one can make it…and it's also amazing how much money one can be screwed out of too. Thankfully, I haven't been screwed over…not yet, anyway."

Lil smiled. "Well, I haven't been 'screwed over' yet. Of course, if I am going to get 'screwed over', I'd like to be kissed first."

Dil chuckled, and he and Lil engaged in another round of tongue wrestling. This time, however, Dil's hands began to feel around Lil's posterior. _"She looks to be wearing a thong,"_ thought Dil. _"She definitely isn't wearing much. Damn! I'd like to have her on my couch right now, and find out just how much she does, or does not, have on underneath."_

* * *

In the evening, Dil sat in the rocking chair in Blaer's nursery with his daughter on his lap. Dil rocked Blaer, and sang to her, before he finally placed her in the crib.

After Dil turned out the lights to the nursery, and partially closed the door, his cellphone rang. Dil checked the Caller ID. The number belonged to Lil.

"Hey, Lil."

"Hi, Dil, are you busy?"

"No, not really—I just finished putting the baby to bed."

"Care if I came over?"

"Sure, you can come over."

"Thanks, I'll be there in a minute."

As Dil closed his cellphone, he heard a knock on his front door. _"That's odd,"_ thought Dil. _"That certainly can't be Lil."_

Yet, when Dil opened his front door there, indeed, stood Lil. She was dressed as Dil had seen her earlier—a red blouse and black skirt.

"Lil!" said a surprised Dil. "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."

Lil smirked. "I move fast."

Dil smiled. "Please come in."

Lil entered. "Any chance you think that Blaer will wake up?"

"I doubt it. She was pretty tired, and the songs that I sang to her really help her go to sleep."

"What songs were those?"

"'The Temple of the King' and 'Homeward'." Dil turned to his kitchen and added, "Can I get you a drink?"

"Yes, I could certainly use a beer right now."

"All right, I'll get you one—even though I've never really known you to drink beer."

Lil chuckled. "Well, when I want something bad enough, I want it."

Dil returned the chuckle.

"Kind of like how you earlier wanted to see my thong," added Lil.

"Eh?"

Lil smirked. "I saw what you were feeling earlier, Dil." Lil slightly raised her skirt and added, "Perhaps I will let you see some of it later on."

Dil grinned wickedly, and he quickly secured two beers from his kitchen. When he returned to the master room, he found Lil on the couch. Dil sat next to her, and handed her a Bud Light. "Here you go, Lil."

Lil took the beer, but she sat it to the side unopened. She smiled, and twirled Dil's hair that was near his face.

_"Damn,"_ thought Dil. _"She isn't messing around."_

Dil returned the smile, as he looked into Lil's brown eyes. Eventually, Dil leaned forward, and kissed her. He closed his eyes, and began to massage Lil's thighs. But when Dil opened his eyes, he saw something radically different. Lil's skin was pale, and there were bruises on her legs. Dil was stunned. He could not look away from Lil's legs. "Lil, what's going on?"

"This is how the car left me," was the response to Dil's question. However, the voice did not belong to Lil.

Dil froze. He knew exactly whom the voice belonged to. Dil slowly turned to the face the person, whom he suspected was now sitting with him. His suspicion was confirmed. Dezirae sat before him with a glare.

Dil could not move, and he could not speak. He was frozen.

"You have forgotten me. Haven't you, Dil?" said Dezirae.

Dil could not respond.

"Is it your success, Dil?"

Again, Dil could not respond.

"What plans did you have for tonight, Dil?"

Dil could not answer.

Dezirae smirked. "I know exactly what those plans were going to be."

Dil was simply a statue before his dead wife. He could move, and he could not speak. Yet, he was intrigued with what Dezirae was going to reveal to him.

"You were going to make out with Lil on our couch, and then take her upstairs to our bed, and make love to her there. And as all of this would be going on, our daughter would be sleeping on the other side of the hall—on the other side of your 'secret love dungeon'. That's what you were going to do, wasn't it, Dil?"

Dil, again, could not respond.

Dezirae glared. "What's the matter with you, Dylan?! Are you not able to answer a simple question from your own wife—from the woman that bore you a child?!"

Dil tried to respond, but the words would not come. Instead, Dezirae clenched her first, and prepared to strike her living husband.

But before the blow could strike Dil, he found himself in his bedroom. It was Friday morning. Dil woke up in a cold sweat, and he gasped for air. He struggled to find feeling in his body, but when he felt he could move, he charged to his dresser. He opened the drawer that contained his wedding ring, and placed it back on his finger. While it may have been a nightmare, Dil was in a state of shock. He sat on the edge of his bed and thought, _"My God!"_


	10. Dil's Struggles

**Author's Note**: A much shorter chapter compared to the previous two, but one that certainly has some substance. As always, I encourage and enjoy your comments.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter X**

Around nine in the morning, Dil prepared breakfast for himself and Blaer. As Dil did so, his Pandora stations randomly played. One of his stations played a song that Dil was quite fond of, but not this morning. "That is not something I want to hear right now," Dil said, as he quickly skipped the song—Iron Maiden's 'Twilight Zone'.

While Blaer ate oatmeal from her highchair, Dil began texting Lil and his bandmates. Dil's message was essentially the same to all of them—he could not make the show at The Nightlife, because of personal reasons. Once Lil and the other members of Dark Stairway received these texts from Dil, they naturally texted him back to know why. Dil, however, did not respond back. He was shaken, even though he tried to hide it.

* * *

Shortly after noon, Dil deposited Blaer at the home of her maternal grandparents. After he hugged and kissed his daughter, Dil returned to his car.

As Dil prepared to leave the Pangborn residence, his cellphone rang. Dil checked the number on his Caller ID. The number belonged to Dark Stairway's booking agent. Dil sighed. "I just don't feel like answering Ron at the moment." Dil pushed a button on his cellphone that sent Dark Stairway's booking agent straight to his voice mail.

* * *

Dil may have had problems talking to Dark Stairway's booking agent, but other members of the band did not. "That's great news, Ron!" said Andrew Stanislov, the guitarist. "Just curious, have you told the other members of the band?"

"Well, more or less," replied the booking agent.

"More or less?"

"Well, yeah, I called everybody about it, but not everybody took my call."

"Not everybody took your call?"

"Yeah, when I called Dil, my call went right to his voice mail. I don't know if his phone's off or what, but I left him a message about it."

Andrew sighed. "Okay, Ron, thanks. I was just curious to know."

"Um, is something wrong, Andrew? You seemed a little bit upset."

"No, no, I'm not upset, just tired."

"Ah, okay, well, I'll talk to you later."

"Same here—take care, Ron."

After the conversation with the booking agent ended, Andrew pondered on his true feelings. _"Actually, I'm quite upset. I don't know what's going on with Dil, but I'm going to find out. Things like this have got to stop."_

* * *

Once Dil left the Pangborns, he drove to his parents' residence. The front door was locked, which indicated that his parents were not at home. This pleased Dil, as he removed the key to his parents' residence. Dil unlocked the door, and entered his childhood home. Dil would have arrived at his parents' residence, regardless of whether or not his parents were present—but since he wanted to be alone, it was truly a blessing that they were not present.

Dil's destination was his parents' backyard and from there the tree house that Dil, his brother, their childhood friends built, when they were kids. In his teenage years, the tree house was the location Dil would often visit, when he wanted to 'get away from everything'. He often did the same thing in his adult years.

Dil sat on the floor in the lotus position and remembered. He remembered the first time he ever took Dezirae into the tree house. Dezirae had just met his parents, when he took her to dinner at his parents' house. After dinner, Dil wanted to take her into the tree house. Dezirae was apprehensive, due to the fact that the Sun had set, but Dil told her that they always had the light of 'Brother Moon'. Inside the tree house, the two made out beneath the Moon and the stars. Dil would have liked to have done more that evening, if he could have 'gotten away with it'. Nevertheless, Dil smiled, as he remembered.

Another memory began to form as well. This memory took place in early October, shortly after Blaer's first birthday. With Dezirae's help, Dil carried his daughter into the tree house. Dezirae would soon join them. Dil and Dezirae sat on the floor holding hands and laughed, as they watched their daughter toddle and crawl around. It was a great memory. Tragically, one month later, Dezirae would be gone.

The memories ended, when Dil's cellphone indicated that he had received a text message. The text message came from Andrew, and it read, 'Dil, it is EXTREMELY important that I talk to you.'

Dil sighed. "Well, I guess that I'd better call him."

Dil dialed Andrew's cellphone number.

"Hello?" answered Andrew.

"Hey, Andrew, it's Dil. What's going on?"

"Well, did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"The news from Ron."

"Um, no, I saw that he left a message on my voice mail, but I haven't checked it yet. What's going on?"

"We're playing an interesting place this summer, Dil."

"Where's that?"

"Wacken."

"Wh-what?! We're playing Wacken—the metal festival?"

Andrew laughed. "Yes, man, we are."

"That is fucking awesome!"

Again, Andrew laughed. "Yeah, dude, it is."

"Do you know where we'll be playing, and what other bands will be playing?"

"Ron told me that we'll be on the Party Stage…"

"Not quite good enough for the 'main event'?" interjected Dil.

Andrew smirked. "Not quite for that level, I guess not. Anyway, Ron told me that he doesn't know for certain what bands will be playing with us, since there will be many of them. On the Party Stage, he mentioned something about Iron Mask and Thunderstone playing either before or after us. On the Main Stage, it's still all a blur. There are rumors that The Scorpions, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, or Deep Purple might play. Of those groups, I'd say you're likely to hear Priest before any of the others. It's more likely that the Main Stage will feature either Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Motorhead, or Grave Digger."

"That makes sense," Dil said, before he chuckled. "I could just see Lemmy up there. He's over 70, but he doesn't give a shit."

Andrew returned the chuckle. "Very true."

"Well, thanks for giving me the news, Andrew. This is very cool."

"Yeah, Dil, it is. Um, Dil?"

"Yeah?"

"There's something else I wanted to ask you about."

"What's that?"

"Well, it's about your text earlier, about how you can't go and see Green-Eyed. What's going on?"

"Well, it's a personal thing, Andrew?"

Andrew nodded. "I understand that, Dil, but when it's something that affects this band, it affects all of us. I mean, going to The Nightlife tonight was a band effort, and you won't tell us what's going on."

Dil sighed. "All right, Andrew, I'll tell you." Dil proceeded to tell Andrew his nightmare. And when he finished, Dil added, "And that's why I can't go, Andrew. I'm just stressed out by it."

Andrew was stunned. "Well, that's a pretty significant dream, Dil. But the fact is, it's just a dream…or a nightmare to be more specific."

"But it seemed so real, Andrew. I mean the clothes Blaer was wearing, when I rocked her, and put her to bed. Those were the exact same clothes that she wore last night. Also, the songs that I sang to her, 'The Temple of the King' and 'Homeward', I really did sing those songs to her last night."

Andrew nodded. "Yes, because it was something fresh in your mind—just like with Lil's clothes. But the fact is, it was only a dream."

"But it seemed so real."

Andrew sighed. "But it wasn't real, and this concerns me, Dil. Not going and seeing Green-Eyed tonight is a minor issue, but what if we were at Wacken or some other venue and something similar happened—would you not perform?"

Dil paused. "No, I'd perform."

"You would?"

Dil nodded. "Being on stage is the one place that helps me escape everything."

Andrew also nodded. "That's good to hear."

"But regardless of whether or not you find what I told you to be real or a dream is truly insignificant."

"Why is that?"

"Being with Lil, or being with anyone, somehow I just feel as though I'm betraying Dezirae's memory."

Again, Andrew nodded. "You know, Dil, I think you need to talk to somebody."

"Who can I talk to? I talked about this once with Chuckie's dad—his lost his wife, when Chuckie was about the same age as Blaer. I went to Lil's practice once, but I obviously can't go back there again—not with what I've told you."

Once again, Andrew nodded. "Maybe you need to talk to someone who was very close to Dezirae? Someone who knew Dezirae longer than you did?"

"The Pangborns? I can't talk to them. Every time I see them, I feel odd around them."

"What do you mean?"

"Somehow, I think that if Blaer wouldn't have been born, they would never want to see me again."

"I thought you always told me that Mr. Pangborn always liked you?"

"Yeah, during my junior high years…that was over ten years ago."

Andrew paused. "How about Rachel?"

"Rachel?"

"Yeah, Dezirae's best friend—she's seeing Lil's brother, isn't she?"

"Um, yes, she is."

"Why don't you talk to her? Obviously she knew Dezirae longer than you did. In fact, if I remember correctly, she was with Dezirae the night you two first met."

"Yeah, she was," Dil said, before he sighed. "Well, I guess it wouldn't really hurt any."

"No, it wouldn't, and it might make you feel better."

"It might, but I don't want to talk to Rachel with Phil around. I'm not sure how Phil would react, if he knew that I had made out with his sister."

Andrew nodded. "That seems fair enough—even though, I know that he's going to hear about it eventually."

Dil also nodded. "That's probably true."

"Anyway, Dil, I'll let you know about how Green-Eyed did sometime tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, thanks, Andrew."

"Take care, Dil."

"Take care, Andrew."

Once Dil's conversation with Andrew ended, he turned to another number in his cellphone's contact list—Rachel's number. Rachel's number was one of the numbers that Dil had in his cellphone that he practically never dialed. After Dezirae's death, Rachel had given Dil her number, and told him to call her, if he needed anything. Dil had rarely, if ever, exercised this option. If he wanted to talk to Rachel, he usually went through Phil. This day, however, was an exception.

"Hello?" answered Rachel.

"Hey, Rachel, it's Dil."

"Dil?"

"Yeah, Dil Pickles."

"Oh, yeah! Hi, Dil!"

"Hi, Rachel. I was wondering, if I could talk to you about something later on today? Do you have any free time?"

"Well, I'm free after four, when I get off work."

"Great! Could you come by my house sometime after that?"

"Sure, what's going on, Dil?"

"Well, it relates to something regarding my past and my present. However, and I have to be honest, it's not something that I would want Phil to hear—at least not at the moment."

"Why is that?"

"Well, after I tell you, I think you'll understand, since his sister is involved."

"How so?"

"Like I said, I'll tell you, when you stop by."

Rachel nodded. "Okay, Dil, I'll come by sometime after four, and I'll make sure not to tell Phil about it, if it's something that's really deadly."

Dil smiled. "Thanks, Rachel. I mean, he's going to hear about a portion I'm going to tell you eventually. I just don't want him to hear about it just yet."

* * *

Around four-thirty, Rachel arrived at Dil's home. Dil greeted her at the front door. "Hey, Rachel, thanks for coming on such short notice. Do come in."

Rachel entered. She had been to Dil's home before, but this time it was different. The last time she was in Dil's residence, Dezirae was with her. The two chatted, and played with Blaer. Now Dezirae was gone, but by the interior of the home her presence was still felt.

"Please have a seat, Rachel," added Dil, while he gestured to the couch.

Rachel did as Dil requested.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked.

"Just water would be fine."

Dil nodded, and entered his kitchen. He returned with a bottle of water and a Diet Pepsi for himself.

"Thank you," Rachel said, while Dil handed her the bottle of water. Rachel took a sip and asked, "I don't hear any sound of Blaer. Is she not with you, or is she sleeping?"

"She's at the Pangborns," responded Dil, while he sat next to Rachel.

Rachel nodded. "Anyway, what do you want to talk to me about that you don't want Phil to know just yet?"

Dil took a drink and said, "I've become quite fond of his sister."

Rachel laughed. "Oh, you're worried that he'll become the protective brother type. I don't think Phil's that way—particularly since he knows you."

Dil shook his head. "That's not completely my problem. It wouldn't matter, if it was Lil I was fond of or someone else."

"What do you mean?" asked Rachel, before she took another drink.

Dil sighed. "I feel that anytime I start to have feelings toward another woman that I'm betraying Dezirae's memory. My dream last night only confirmed my feelings."

"What do you mean?"

Dil informed Rachel of his dream/nightmare from the previous night, and the struggles he has endured ever since Dezirae's passing. "I can't talk to Lil about this," continued Dil, "but when I was talking to one of my bandmates, he suggested that I should talk to someone who knew Dezirae longer than I did. Her parents were one possibility, but ever since Dezirae's passing, I've always felt a negative vibe around them."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I think that if Blaer had never been born, they really wouldn't ever want to see me again."

Rachel took another drink. "I doubt that they feel that way about you, but what about Iris?"

'Iris' was a reference to Iris Pangborn—Dezirae's biological mother, who lived near the state line between California and Oregon. Dil shook his head. "I really didn't think much about talking to Iris. Dezirae had a falling out with her mother, which is what brought her to this town in the first place."

Rachel nodded. "That's true. Does Iris ever talk to you, or do you ever talk to her, since Dezirae's passing?"

"Not really—she sent me a Christmas card, and she sent Blaer some Christmas presents, but we really haven't talked."

Again, Rachel nodded.

"But you knew Dezirae longer than I did, so I thought that I could talk to you about this."

Rachel smiled. "Dil, I met Dezirae, when I was a freshman in high school. She was my best friend, and I know how much she loved you. In fact, I saw it the very first night that you two met." Rachel paused to take another drink. "Because Dezirae loved you so much, I know that she would never want to see you suffer. If someone was to tell me that Dezirae wanted you, or someone else, to suffer, I would say that, that goes against Dezirae's nature."

Dil turned to the floor. "I just wish that I could see that."

"Why do you have to see it? You were married to her. You should know it already."

Dil returned to Rachel. "My dreams don't reflect that, Rachel."

"But those are dreams, Dil. They don't reflect reality. They most certainly reflect the Dezirae that we knew in life."

Dil returned his gaze to the floor. "But they could reflect the Dezirae that exists in death."

Rachel gave Dil a look. "I don't believe that, Dil, and neither do you."

Dil slowly returned to Rachel.

Rachel smiled, and held Dil's hand. "If anything is bothering Dezirae right now, it's your melancholy."

Dil forced himself to smile.

Rachel maintained her smile. "I knew Dezirae better than her parents did. The first thing she would want you to do would be to get on with your life."

Dil also maintained his smile. "Thanks."

Rachel kept her smile, but she also noticed the clock on the wall. "It's getting late, Dil. I have to go. I have to help Phil prepare dinner."

Dil nodded, as he stood from the couch. "I understand, Rachel. Thanks for coming by. Here, let me show you the door."

Dil escorted Rachel, and she followed him. One Dil's front porch, Rachel hugged him and said, "Remember, Dil, Dezirae loved you, but the most important thing that she would want you to do would be to move on with your life, and to provide a happy childhood for Blaer."

Dil smiled. "Thank you."

"Speaking of Blaer, do you think you could bring her by sometime? I'd like to see her."

Dil maintained his smile. "Sure, will do."

Rachel returned the smile. "Take care, Dil."

"Take care, Rachel."

* * *

Dil spent his evening at home. He watched some videos that featured himself and Dezirae. One video was of his and Dezirae's wedding reception. At the reception, Dark Stairway performed, and Dil chuckled as he remembered getting out of his tuxedo and into his robe. The band performed 'The Temple of the King' and 'Catch the Rainbow'. Another video that followed was Blaer's baptism. Dil smiled, as he watched Dezirae comfort a crying Blaer, after the priest christened her.

After Dil watched a few home movies, he retreated to his bedroom with a pair of photo albums. Dil placed the photo albums on his bed, while he turned on his various Pandora stations. Dil sat on the bed, and browsed through the albums, which featured images of various personal and holiday gatherings—such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Hanukkah. When Dil came to the final photographs in the album, Diamond Head's 'Borrowed Time' began to play, which was an odd coincidence. Dil, however, was simply too tired to change the music. The final photographs in the album were from the previous Halloween. Blaer was too little to participate in her first Halloween, but she was old enough for this one. Dil and Dezirae decided that it would be funny to dress her up like a 'punk rocker', so she wore jeans, a black shirt, and a little bit of black make-up. Dil chuckled at the images. He remembered how his parents and in-laws thought that Blaer would make a 'pretty princess' for Halloween, and here he and Dezirae dressed her up like a punk rocker. Tragically, this would truly be the only Halloween that Dezirae would ever get to see her daughter dress up—at least in the 'land of the living'.

As Diamond Head's 'Borrowed Time' concluded, another song began to play—this time 'Yellow Raven' from The Scorpions. Dil smiled—the lyrics to this song were one that he enjoyed. He closed the photo album, and turned off the lights in his master bedroom. Dil relaxed on his bed, and he began to sing the lyrics, "'Where do you go, fantastic dreambird? Take me away to somewhere. Take me away from here.'"

Dil intended to turn off his Pandora stations after this song, but he fell asleep before he could do so. Yet the 'fantastic dreambird' did 'take him somewhere'. Dil was mostly certainly taken 'away from here'.


	11. Lil Contemplates

**Author's Note**: It certainly took me a while to get this chapter to all of you. Things have been pretty busy lately. Anyway, in this chapter, Dil is going to take a break, although his name will be frequently mentioned. This chapter will be relatively short compared to previous chapter. Probably it will be about the same length as chapter four. With that being said, please continue to give me some critical feedback.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter XI**

As Dil browsed through home movies and photograph albums, before he was taken away by the 'fantastic dream bird', Lil sent Dil another text message: 'Hey, Dil, I sent you a message earlier, but I haven't heard anything back. Are you okay?'

Lil's text message received no response. She decided to contact her brother. She wondered if perhaps Dil had contacted her twin. "Phillip?"

"Lillian! What's going on?"

"I was wondering, has Dil talked to you?"

"Dil? No, I haven't heard anything from him…Er, could you hold on for a second?"

In the background, Lil could hear mumbling. She thought that she recognized an outside voice.

"Uh, Lil," began Phil, "Rachel wants to talk to you."

"Okay?"

"Hi, Lil," began Rachel, "I thought that I overheard some of the conversation that you were having with your brother. You were asking about Dil, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I talked to Dil earlier today. I take it that you've been trying to reach him?"

"Yes."

Rachel nodded. "I thought as much. Let me ask you a question, Lil, and please answer it honestly."

"Okay?"

"Do you care a lot about Dil?"

"What?! Of course, I do! I've known him, since he was a baby—younger than me and Phil."

Rachel shook her head. "No, Lil, I mean do you _really_ care about him?"

"…What do you mean, Rachel?"

"Beyond friendship?"

Lil blushed. "Yes, I do. I know it sounds odd. He's almost two years younger than me, but yes, I'm attracted to him."

Rachel smiled. "It's not odd. Lots of people are attracted to him. My best friend from high school was one of them."

Lil nodded.

Rachel maintained her smile. "I thought that I'd tell you, Lil, that Dil feels about you very much the same way that you feel about him, but that's where his struggles lie."

Lil was confused. "What do you mean?"

"He feels that by have feelings towards you, or any other girl, that he's betraying Dezirae's memory."

Lil turned to the floor. "I see." Lil returned her eyes to a normal position and added, "I guess that this is a relationship that I shouldn't try to pursue. If Dezirae's still on Dil's mind, I'll never be able to replace her."

"You shouldn't try to replace her—no one ever will. But Dezirae would never want to see Dil like this. I was one of her best friends, and I know this. That's what I told Dil, when he told me about his dream."

"His dream?"

"Nightmare is really more like it."

"Dil talked to me about one of his nightmare's in my office."

"Has that been some time ago?"

"Well, it's been a week ago."

"This was a nightmare from last night."

"Oh, I see. What was it about?"

"Are you sure that you want to know?"

Lil nodded. "Yes."

"Okay, then." Rachel proceeded to tell Lil what Dil had told her earlier—about his nightmare, where Dil made out with Lil, who just happened to morph into Dezirae, and scolded him for doing so. "Dil informed me that he couldn't tell you about his dream," continued Rachel. "But I think that you needed to know. He's still struggling."

"…Interestingly enough," began Lil, "he told me about a week ago that he was able to move on."

"Obviously, that's not entirely the truth. Dil's an odd one though. He's cute, but he's an odd one."

"That he is," Lil said, before she sighed. "Perhaps I should just let him go?"

"That's your choice, Lil, but I think Dil just needs to understand that his dreams do not reflect reality. The Dezirae he described to me is in no way shape or form the Dezirae that I knew in life, and I would also say that I doubt that it's the Dezirae in death as well. I told that to Dil. I told him that if anything bothers Dezirae, it's his melancholy attitude."

Lil frowned. "It's too bad Dezirae can't tell him that."

Rachel also frowned. "That's very true. With all the claiming from Dil that he 'talks to Ronnie James Dio', why can't he 'talk to Dezirae'?"

Lil forced herself to chuckle.

Rachel smiled. "You know, Lil, Dil came to me, because he needed someone to talk to who knew Dezirae quite well. Maybe you need to do the same thing with Dil?"

"But like I said, I've known Dil since we were real little."

"I know that, but let me put my question another way. If I was going to ask someone questions about Phil, would I ask Chuckie, Tommy, Dil, or you?"

"I would assume that all of us could answer a question about Phil."

Rachel shook her head. "No, Lil, I would ask you. I would ask you, because you're Phil's twin sister. Chuckie, Tommy, and Dil know Phil quite well, but not as well as his twin."

"But Dil doesn't have a twin."

"But he does have an older brother, correct?"

Lil nodded. "Yes."

"Well, there you go."

"So you're suggesting that I talk to his older brother, correct?"

Rachel nodded. "Correct! Who better to know Dil than his older brother?"

"…Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"No, it sure wouldn't. Tommy might be able to give you some great insight into his younger brother."

Lil sighed. "He might."

Rachel smiled. "Well, do you need to talk to Phil again?"

"No, that's not necessary anymore. I think you've pretty much answered everything for me at this moment. I'm going to see, if Tommy can help me out."

Rachel nodded. "Take care, Lil."

"Take care, Rachel."

* * *

Around the same time in Los Angeles, Tommy and Kimi were packing. "Do you think we have everything?" asked Kimi.

"I think so," replied Tommy, while he closed his suitcase.

"What time does the plane leave?"

"The plane leaves at eleven, so we should be in our hometown around noon or 12:30. You did remind your brother about picking us up, right?"

Kimi nodded. "Yes, I did, but he told me that he might have Kirk with him. He said that Kirk's been asking about his Aunt Kimi."

Tommy laughed. "Kirk's a cool kid."

Kimi smiled. "Do you think Blaer's been asking about her Uncle Tommy?"

Tommy smirked. "Who knows? For all we know, Chuckie might have Blaer with him."

"What makes you think so?"

"Dil can't get us, because he has to watch some band play at The Nightlife this evening. For all I know, he dropped off Blaer at Chuckie and Ashley's place."

Kimi grinned. "Possibly, but if he did, I wonder if he gave Kirk that 'be careful around my daughter' speech? He said that once, when he placed Blaer before him."

Tommy laughed. "Oh, yes, I've heard about that. How did Kirk react?"

"He laughed. I don't think he understood what Dil was trying to tell him."

Tommy smirked. "And Blaer?"

"She just smiled. I doubt that she understand what her dad was trying to say either."

Tommy smiled. "You didn't tell Chuckie about our announcement, did you?"

"No, I haven't told anybody."

Tommy smiled. "Good." Then he took a deep breath. "I can't wait to go home tomorrow."

Kimi returned the smile. "It's funny that you called our hometown area 'home'. I thought that in the last few years, you always thought of LA as 'home'?"

"I guess it's a combination of both. Somehow I feel more relaxed in our hometown, than I am in LA."

Kimi nodded. "Is it because it's smaller?"

"I'm sure that's a big reason why. It's a smaller town; yet it functions like a city."

Kimi smiled. "You know, I think I know a major reason why you consider our hometown area 'home'."

"Why's that?"

"All our friends from childhood are still there."

"Perhaps," Tommy said, before he chuckled. "It's amazing how everybody stayed behind, Kimi, except you and me."

"The only reason I left is because of you, Tommy. You dragged me to LA."

Tommy grinned. "Okay, so maybe I did. But I guess in a way, Dil left too."

"When he tours anyway."

Tommy nodded. "Right. You know, I just thought of something."

"What's that?"

"Do you remember, when we were in junior high, and I won the National Junior Directors Award for my film, _Kaleidoscope Lunch_?"

"Yes, we threw a surprise party for you at the Java Lava."

Again, Tommy nodded. "Right. Well, do you remember how I told you that Dil was depressed, because he thought that he would be the 'forgotten younger brother'?"

"Yes, I remember that."

Tommy sat on his couch. "Sometimes I think that my younger brother may have surpassed me."

Kimi was confused, as she sat next to Tommy. "What do you mean?"

"His musical career seems to be doing much better than my film career. Don't get me wrong, I'm not jealous or anything. But I just wish that I could see more success with the films that I've made."

Kimi smiled, and held Tommy's hand. "You've been very successful, Tommy. All your films have turned a profit. You may have had some bad luck with the release of _Nicholas and Alexandra_, but it was still a success. You're not going to become a Steven Spielberg or George Lucas overnight, and neither is Dil going to become one of his heavy metal heroes overnight."

Tommy returned the smile. "You sure know how to make someone, who feels down on his luck, feel better."

Kimi maintained her smile.

Tommy ran his thumb over a diamond ring that Kimi wore. "That's a beautiful diamond ring."

"Of course, it is. You bought it for me."

"Is it beautiful, just because I bought it?"

Kimi giggled. "No, but it helps."

Tommy smiled, and the two began to kiss, but their kissing was interrupted, when Tommy's cellphone rang.

"Don't answer it," Kimi said, before he kissed Tommy.

"But it could be important," Tommy said, before he returned the kiss.

When the cellphone rang again, Tommy said, "Let me at least check it."

Tommy checked his Caller ID. "It's Lil DeVille. It could be important." Tommy answered his cellphone and said, "Hey, Lil."

"Hey, Tommy, I hope I'm not bother you am I?"

Tommy turned to Kimi and smirked. "No, you're not bothering me at all. Kimi and I have just been packing for our trip home."

Kimi returned the smirk.

"'Home' as in here, right?" asked Lil.

"That's correct. We're flying in tomorrow. Anyway, what's going on?"

"Have you talked to your brother today?"

"No, the last I heard was that he was going to see some band perform at The Nightlife tonight."

Lil nodded. "I know. I was supposed to go with him."

"And I guess you're not now?"

Again, Lil nodded. "He texted me, and said that he couldn't go for personal reasons."

"Well, I don't know what those personal reasons are, Lil. They certainly aren't anything that I'm familiar with."

"I know what they are, Tommy."

"Well, what are they?"

Lil sighed, as she told Tommy what had taken place between her and Dil, and what Rachel had told her.

Tommy was stunned. "Well, that wasn't exactly something that I expected to hear."

"You're stunned that I've become attracted to someone who's nearly two years younger than me, or you're stunned that I've become attracted to your younger brother?"

"More my younger brother than anything."

"Does it bother you?"

"No."

"Then can you give me some advice? You would know your brother better than any of us would."

Tommy took a deep breath. "I think a lot of Dil's struggles relate to whom Dezirae was for him, and I don't mean that as a wife or as Blaer's mother. I mean that as I think Dezirae was the first girl Dil truly 'fell for'. I remember saying that to Kimi the first time we ever met her, and, obviously, the first time Dil met her as well. Dil still struggles with that, even though he's trying to move on."

Lil sighed. "So there's truly no hope for me then, Tommy?"

"I wouldn't say that, Lil, but here's what I think you should do. Let Dil make the next move. Let Dil come to you. You certainly don't want to make yourself sound desperate."

"No, I sure don't," said Lil. From prior experience, Lil knew exactly how bad that could be.

Tommy smiled. "I'm sure that it will be okay one way or the other. If you have any more problems or concerns, please don't hesitate to call me."

Lil smiled. "Thanks, Tommy."

Tommy maintained his smile. "Take care, Lil. Hope to see you tomorrow."

"Okay, Tommy. See you then."

When Tommy closed his cellphone, Kimi asked, "What was that all about? I know that it was Lil who called, and something was mentioned about your brother, but what's going on?"

Tommy turned to his kitchen. "Let's have a drink first. It's going to take me a while to explain."

* * *

While Tommy explained to Kimi the conversation that he had with Lil, Lil looked at her cellphone. Would Dil text her, or would his spiral of depression continue? Only time would tell.


	12. Hero Veneration and Reunions

**Author's Note**: Greetings, everyone! We are back to a more traditional length chapter and back to Dil, and his journey on the 'fantastic dream bird'. I thought that I would also let everybody know that the journey is soon coming to a close. Not yet, but soon. As always, I appreciate those who have read so far, and those who have reviewed.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter XII**

'Fantastic Dream Bird take me away to somewhere. Take me away from here.' Thus sings Klaus Meine of The Scorpions. But the 'dream bird' did indeed take Dil away. It took him away to a place with snow on mountain tops—yet nobody was ever cold. It took him to a place where beer seemed to flow endlessly from the taps—yet nobody ever became drunk. If anything, the 'Fantastic Dream Bird' took Dil to a place that could be described in one word—'magical'.

"Hello, Dil," said a voice.

Dil gasped. The voice seemed to be one that Dil was familiar with. When Dil turned to the voice, he saw a man in a black and scarlet robe that was similar to the one Dil had often worn on stage. The man had long dark brown hair and blue eyes.

The man smiled. "The cat doesn't have your tongue, does it, Dil?"

Again, Dil gasped. "Ronnie James Dio?"

The man grinned and nodded.

Dil, however, was still stunned. "Is it truly you?"

Dio, who looked as he did from his Rainbow and early Black Sabbath days, maintained his grin. "That it is. I always come to my 'rock and roll children', whenever they need my help. Please come with me."

Dil looked at his surroundings. "Where are we?"

Dio chuckled. "Isn't it obvious? We're on the Silver Mountain."

"Really?!"

Again, Dio chuckled. "Yes, really. But please, Dil, come walk with me."

Dil did as Dio requested. The two walked along a path, but Dil could not help to observe the scenery. On both sides of the path there was a lush forest. Yet on one side of the path, there was snow, and on the other side of the path, there was fallen leaves.

"How is it that on one side of the path, there is snow; and on the other, there isn't any?" asked Dil.

"Because I chose it that way. This forest is a memory of the many woodland areas from my hometown of Cortland, New York. I always loved it, when it was fall and winter in the woods, so I thought that I would display a combination of both."

"It's very...beautiful," said Dil.

Dio nodded. "Yes, it is."

"You know that I've always wanted to visit your hometown, and get my picture taken by the 'Dio Way' street sign."

Dio grinned. "If you do, make sure to stop in my cousin's restaurant as well."

"Oh, and another place I want to go to is Bulgaria—where that statue of you is located!"

Dio smiled.

As the two continued to walk, Dil began to hear some very heavy music. "What's that?"

"A collaboration of music. We do a lot of that here on the Silver Mountain. Jon Lord, Cozy Powell, Dimebag Darrell, Jeff Hanneman, Cliff Burton, John Bonham, Jim Morrison...we all do some collaborating together."

Dil was in awe. "That must be fucking awesome!"

Dio chuckled. "You know, Dil, you and I have had a bond for quite a long time."

"Really?"

Again, Dio chuckled. "Yes, really."

"When do you think that happen?"

"I don't know exactly. Perhaps it was when you saw me back in 2004. I remember that headbanger gesture that you gave me. When I returned that gesture to you, I felt something. Surely you felt it as well?"

Dil nodded. "Yeah, I did, but that's not all I felt that night, either."

"You felt the character that you named 'Izzy' from when you were a boy that night as well, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did. Dio, who or what is Izzy?"

"He's a force from the Silver Mountain. Jews, Christian, and Muslims might refer to such things as 'angels', and I suppose you can to. But this force came to you, when you were ten, to help guide you into the world of heavy metal."

"Dio, I'm confused."

"What do you mean?"

"…You're dead, right?"

Dio nodded. "Yes, I left the mortal world nearly six years ago."

"But my encounter with Izzy was when you were still alive, so…"

"You wonder how that could have happened?"

Dil nodded. "Yes."

"Well, Dil, I don't have all the answers. There are lots of things I still don't understand, because God won't tell me. It's kind of like nobody has ever told me why our neighbors next door in Heaven—we're a suburb of Heaven—decided to stop playing Gregorian chant, and decided to start playing 'Holy Diver' every time Jesus is about to do a cannon ball in the large swimming pool that they have there. But then again, I think it's cool that they're playing one of my songs, every time Jesus is about to jump off a diving board, so perhaps it's best not to ask questions."

Dil chuckled. "To change the subject a little bit, Dio, I hope that you like it whenever my band, Dark Stairway, covers one of your songs?"

Dio smiled, but as he did so, he gently waved his hand. A scene began to form. "Come, Dil, observe this with me."

Dil recognized the location. "That's The Nightlife. I've played there many times."

Dio nodded. "Correct, that is the band that your fellow bandmates wanted you to see this evening."

"The band called 'Green-Eyed'?"

Again, Dio nodded. "Correct." Dio snapped his fingers, and a throne formed behind him for him to sit on.

Dil also snapped his fingers. He wondered, if a throne would appear for him too. Unfortunately for him, it did not.

Dio chuckled. "Sorry, Dil, but that only works for me. Please though, observe the scene," Dio added, while he gestured to the band.

Dil did as Dio requested. Green-Eyed was a five piece band, but Dil could tell by their musical equipment that they were different from Dark Stairway. Unlike Dark Stairway, Green-Eyed did not feature a keyboard player. _"I guess it'll be a dueling guitar band—similar to Iron Maiden or Judas Priest,"_ thought Dil. Dil observed a number of people on stage, but it took him a while to figure out who was who with the band. The lead singer appeared to be the lanky blonde headed man with the unibrow. _"Dear God, has he ever thought about shaving some of that?"_ The drummer held a very similar appearance to the lead singer, except that he did not have the unibrow. Dil suspected that the two might be brothers. _"Sometimes I wish, back when I was a teenager, that Tommy would have shared my love of heavy metal. It would have been nice to have formed a band with him."_ One of the band's lead guitar players, who also appeared to be their rhythm guitarist as well, also had blonde hair, but he had a little bit of facial hair beneath his chin. However, this musician had a different appearance from both the lead singer and the drummer, which made Dil suspect that he was not related to either one of them. Yet, it was the other guitarist and bass player, which stunned Dil. Like the lead singer and the drummer, the other guitarist and the bass player appeared to be related. But unlike the lead singer and the drummer, who were both white, the other guitar player and the bass player were black. _"Most blacks I know do not like heavy metal, so this is quite interesting."_

The opening song from Green-Eyed was one that Dil was not familiar with. He assumed that it was an original piece from the band. The song was in the power metal style that Dil enjoyed, and it seemed to be a cross between something Iron Maiden and Iced Earth would do. "That's pretty impressive," said Dil.

Dio nodded. "That it is."

Once the song concluded, the lead singer addressed the crowd. "Okay, everyone, we'd like to do a little cover right now from a band that you might have heard of called Black Sabbath."

The crowd cheered.

The lead singer chuckled. "Now, the man who sang this song wasn't from California originally, but he made California his home."

A few patrons in the back began to chant "Ozzy!"

"No, I'm not talking about Ozzy. I'm talking about the great Ronnie James Dio!"

Many in the crowd cheered, and many in the crowd laughed.

Dil turned to Dio. The 'Man on the Silver Mountain' beamed.

"And this is for Ronnie James Dio," continued the lead singer. "It's called 'Heaven and Hell'!"

As Green-Eyed played the opening notes to Black Sabbath's 'Heaven and Hell', Dil returned to Dio. The legendary metal musician still displayed a bright smile.

"What do you think, Dil?" asked Dio.

"I think that's a pretty good version, Dio. I'm not sure it's as good as ours, but it's a pretty good version. I know that I asked you this earlier, but do you like it, when people cover your music?"

Dio maintained his smile. "I do like it. Imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery, as has been said countless times. But do you know what I like more? When bands perform their own music. Obviously it's a huge honor, when tributes are given to me and my music, but that's something that I did. I would prefer musicians carving out their own destiny, rather than riding on my coattails or some other band's coattails. But I think you guys, and this band here, do a great job of creating a balancing act between showing respect to the bands that influenced you, and trying to produce your own history as well."

Dil smiled. "Thank you, Dio." But as Dil turned to the scene at The Nightlife, his mood changed. He became melancholy.

"What is depressing you, Dil?" asked Dio.

"I should have been there at the club tonight. It was a band effort, and I left my bandmates down."

Dio stood from his throne, which vanished behind him. "Please continue to walk with me, Dil."

Dil did as Dio requested.

"I know the origins of your sadness, Dil," continued Dio, "but some joy will come to you soon from two different directions. One of which, I will not show you, but the other, I will let you see."

"What is it, Dio?"

"Patience, Dil. You will see it soon. Just continue to walk with me."

The two continued to walk along the path through the forest. Yet, Dil could not help but ask one of his musical icons a question. "Do you ever have any negative moments, Dio?"

"Occasionally, yes—usually, they come from thinking too much about the Evil Lady from the Low Countries."

"The 'Evil Lady from the Low Countries'?"

Dio nodded. "Yes, she hates me and my music. She's always on internet sites bashing me, every time there's an article about me."

"It's not the 'Digital Bitch' Sharon Osbourne, is it?"

Dio laughed. "No, Sharon's from England. This lady is from the Low Countries. That's Holland."

"Or the Netherlands?"

"That's correct."

"It seems odd that something evil would come there. They at least let their citizens smoke pot."

Dio laughed.

"Is this 'Evil Lady from the Low Countries' whom the song 'Lady Evil' is based on?"

"There could be a few themes from 'Lady Evil' that could be based on her. But in truth, she's a creation based on karma...karma which I slightly helped create."

"What do you mean?"

"Before I answer that question, let me ask you one, Dil."

"Okay?"

"Name the countries in Europe that have monarchs?"

"Well, the British do. Umm…I think the Italians do. Don't the Spanish have a monarchy?"

Dio chuckled. "Your responses reflect the typical American answer. Most Americans don't know any other royal family, except the British one. Such was the case with me as well—well, sort of."

"What do you mean?"

"During my days in Rainbow, we had a tour of the United States, and we played a show in Texas. Since Americans, by and large, only know members of the British Royal Family, members from the other royal houses in Europe can usually move about unnoticed in America. Such was the case at this show in Texas, where a Dutch princess was present. Because this girl was a princess, she had the means to bribe security, and make her way backstage. She and I hit it off pretty well."

"What was her name?"

Dio grinned. "I'm going to let you guess on that one, Dil."

Dil paused. "Well, will you tell me what happened?"

"Sure, we went back to my hotel room; I tossed her on the bed; and we had sex like a couple of drunken apes."

Dil laughed.

Dio smirked. "Yes, I'm slightly amazed that we didn't break the bed in the process."

"So did you have a secret love child with this Dutch princess?"

"No."

"Then how exactly does the Evil Lady from the Low Countries show up?"

"I didn't learn about this, of course, until I finally settled on the Silver Mountain, but the parents of the said Dutch princess weren't too fond of her escapades in America, and it produced some negative karma. This karma floated silently around the world, until it entered the womb and became united with the unborn child that would eventually become the Evil Lady from the Low Countries, whom I speak of."

"...Interesting-do you know what this person looks like?"

"Not exactly, I do understand that she can be very charming, but she really, really hates me and my fans. If she finds out that someone's a Dio fan, she will try to ruin their life. But despite all the bad karma, I think she secretly likes me, and wishes she could be with me, even though she stubbornly resists."

"Would you bring her to the Silver Mountain?"

"Sure, I'll employ her as my little 'Dutch maid'."

Dil laughed.

And Dio smiled. "Anyway, Dil, you're not here to learn about the Evil Lady from the Low Countries."

"Then why am I here?"

"You will see very shortly."

Eventually the forest that Dio and Dil had been walking through came to an end. At its edge there was darkness, and yet there was light. Light that was produced by a rainbow.

Dil grinned. "A 'Rainbow in the Dark'."

Dio returned the grin. "Yes, indeed, but there's your destination, Dil," he added with a gesture.

Dio gestured to a modest home with an exterior that looked very similar to Dil's home in Northern California.

"That kind of looks like my place," said Dil.

Dio nodded.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You can knock on the door for starters."

Dil was confused; however, he did as Dio requested. But when the door opened, Dil gasped. On the other side stood Dezirae.

"Dil!" exclaimed Dezirae.

This was not the Dezirae that Dil had encountered in his nightmare Thursday evening. This was the Dezirae he had known in life. In her black tank top and jean shorts, Dezirae looked radiant. Her appearance reminded Dil of their first encounter on that warm October night from 2012. Yet despite the appearance of his lost love, Dil was stunned. "Dezirae?!"

Dezirae giggled, and grabbed Dil's hand. She gently tugged on it.

Dil, however, did not budge. He was still confused, and he turned to Dio for guidance.

But Dio merely smiled. "Go with her, Dil. That's why I brought you here."

Dil nodded, and turned to Dezirae.

Dezirae played with a strand of Dil's hair and said, "Come with me, Dil."

Dil shook his head. "May I kiss you first?"

Dezirae giggled, before she kissed Dil.

The kiss was as Dil remembered. In fact, it took him back to the night of their first kiss at the after-hours party. Once the kiss concluded, Dil smiled, and followed Dezirae into the home. Like the home's exterior, its interior was very similar to the home that Dil had once shared with Dezirae.

Ten minutes later, moans could be heard throughout the Silver Mountain. Along with the moans was Dil singing portions of 'Man on the Silver Mountain'. From his 'master throne room', Dio chuckled. "Yes, sex is so much better here, than it is on Mother Terra."

* * *

An hour later, Dil sat next to Dezirae on the same bed that had recently been the object of their love making. "I really missed stuff like that," said a red-faced Dil in his boxers.

"So do I," said an equally red-faced Dezirae, before she kissed Dil. "I miss those trips to your 'secret love dungeon'."

Dil smirked, but it was brief. Soon he turned to the floor, before he returned to Dezirae. "I'm sure that you're mad at me, aren't you?"

"Why would I be mad at you?" replied Dezirae, while she stood, and slipped her bra back on.

"You know that I've had feelings for other girls besides you?"

"For one, if I remember correctly," responded Dezirae, as she put her shorts back on.

Dil returned to the floor and sighed. "I'm sure it bothers you."

Dezirae smiled, and sat next to Dil. She kissed his cheek and said, "No, it doesn't, but there are some things that do bother me, Dylan."

"What's that?"

"Your mood swings, Dil—you're happy one moment and sad the next. I don't like that. That's not good for Blaer."

"I always put on a brave face around Blaer."

Dezirae smiled. "I know that, but Blaer's becoming much better at reading her daddy. She is starting to sense, when her daddy is sad."

Again, Dil returned to the floor and sighed.

But Dezirae maintained her smile. She stood, and held Dil's hands. "Why are you so sad, Dil?"

Dil returned to Dezirae. "You know why."

"Yes, but I want to hear you say it."

Dil's lip began to quiver, and his eyes started to water. "I miss you, Dezirae. You were the only person that I ever truly loved. I'm lost without you. I don't know how to be a proper father to Blaer without you around. I want you to come back."

Dezirae maintained her smile, while she brushed Dil's hair. "I miss you too, Dil, which is why we're in a place that was filled with many of our favorite memories together. But, Dil, I am always watching over you. You and Blaer, I am always watching over the two of you. And you're a great father to Blaer. Don't ever think that you're not."

Dil forced himself to smile.

Dezirae gave Dil a quick kiss, before she took the hand that contained his wedding ring.

Dil watched, as Dezirae gently removed the ring from his finger.

Dezirae held the ring before him and said, "When we were married, the priest said, 'Until death do you part'. We have parted now, Dil, but I am always watching over you. You and Blaer, I am always watching over both of you."

Dil started to cry.

But Dezirae wiped the tears away. "I don't want to see you cry, Dil. I want to see you move on. I want you to be strong—not just for yourself, but for our daughter as well. Hold out your hand for me, Dil."

Dil did as Dezirae requested.

Dezirae placed the ring in Dil's palm, and closed it for him. "Give that ring to Blaer one day, and tell her how much her mother loved her. Also, bring Blaer to my grave one day, and have her visit my mother. Mom and I had a falling out over how controlling she could be, but I want Blaer to have a part in her life."

Dil nodded and said coarsely, "I will do so."

Dezirae smiled, and motioned Dil to stand with her. Dil did so, and Dezirae hugged him. Once again, she brushed his long hair. "In death, we have parted, but one day we will meet again. And on that day, we will burn the sky together. Of course, I realize that I might have a little competition from somebody else. But if that's Lil, I don't mind that so much. I always liked Lil, so it can be a fair competition. But regardless of whether it's Lil or somebody else, I am still the 'first in line, so we'll see how I'll shine'."

Through his tears, Dil chuckled.

Dezirae maintained her smile, and held Dil's hands. "That's the Dil I want to see—someone who is strong and happy." Dezirae looked into his eyes and added, "Goodbye, Dil, we must part now. But always remember, I am always watching over you and Blaer." Dezirae kissed Dil.

Dil closed his eyes, and images began to form. The images were of his happiest moments with Dezirae: their first encounter, various parties they attended, holidays, their wedding, and the birth of their daughter.

* * *

When Dil opened his eyes, he was in his bedroom, and it was morning. The text on Dil's Pandora radio station asked if anyone was still in the room. One of Dil's hands lay flat on his mattress, and when he removed the hand, he discovered his wedding ring. Near the wedding ring, a portion of his bed sheet seemed to display the headbanger gesture.

Dil was not certain what to make of all of this. Certainly he could have pulled his wedding ring off in his sleep, and he could have motioned his body to create the headbanger gesture in his sleep.

But Dil decided not to dwell on the situation. As Dio said, perhaps it is best not to ask too many questions. Instead, Dil merely returned the headbanger gesture and said, "Thank you, Dio, for looking out for your 'rock and roll children'." Then Dil turned to one of his photo albums. He found an image of Dezirae shortly after the two started dating. In the picture, Dezirae wore a black tank top and jean shorts. Dil smiled and said, "Thank you, Dezirae, for giving me the strength and blessing to love again. Regardless of who comes into my life, you are going to burn the sky with me first."


	13. The Following Morning

**Author's Note**: Greetings, everyone! We're coming to the end, as this is the next to last chapter. The way this chapter ends might be a little odd to some people. I thought about writing more (with Tommy and Kimi), but then I thought that it would take away what has been the major bulk of this chapter. So in the next chapter—the final chapter—I will have a reference to it.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter XIII**

The early morning Saturday sun reflected off of Dil's red hair, as he placed his wedding ring in a dresser drawer. "One day Blaer, this ring is going to belong to you," Dil said, before he closed the drawer.

Dil's next order of business was to turn to his cellphone. Obviously, Dil had plenty of unanswered messages, but there was one in particular that he thought that he should address: 'Hey, Lil. I want to let you know that I'm okay, and I'm sorry about what happened yesterday.'

As Dil changed into his workout clothes, his cellphone indicated that he had received a new text message. The text message was from Lillian DeVille. 'Hi, Dil, that's okay. Do you want to chat?'

Dil paused, before he texted, 'Sure, but can it be later on at your place? I think that I'm going to drive to Dorris today.'

'Where's that at?'

'It's about two hours north of us, near the Oregon border.'

'What's going on there?'

'Dezirae's mom lives there. I thought that I would take Blaer to see her maternal grandmother.'

In some respects, Lil hated to hear that message. She wanted to hear things that involved herself and Dil with no references to Dil's past. Yet, she could not deny that Blaer was Dil's and Dezirae's daughter. Therefore, she decided to give a polite textual response, 'Dezirae never seemed to talk about her much. Didn't she come to your wedding?'

'She did, but the two weren't very close. Apparently, Dezirae's mom could be real controlling, so Dezirae skipped town, and ended up coming here. Still, I think Blaer has the right to get to know her maternal grandmother.'

'I agree. Do you have any idea, when you'll be back in town?'

'Sometime this afternoon—I'll make sure to call you.'

'Okay, sounds good, Dil.'

* * *

Throughout the day, Lil wondered if Dil was going to call her. But around three o'clock in the afternoon, Lil's cellphone rang—and her Caller ID revealed that the number belonged to Dil. "Hi, Dil!"

"Hey, Lil, I'm back in town with my baby girl. Is it okay, if we stop over?"

"Sure."

"Just so you know, Blaer's sleeping. Is there any place where she can sleep at?"

"I would think that my bedroom would work."

"That should work. I don't think Blaer's going to roll off the bed."

"There are some pillows that you could put around her to make sure that she doesn't."

Dil nodded. "Okay, that sounds good, Lil. We'll be there in around fifteen minutes."

* * *

A little after a quarter hour past three o'clock, Dil Pickles—who was dressed in a faded DIO Master of the Moon tour shirt and jeans—arrived at Lil's home. Over one of Dil's shoulders was his daughter's diaper bag, and on the other shoulder was his daughter. Blaer, who slept on Dil's shoulder, wore a lavender dress with a pink bow in her hair.

"She looks so pretty," whispered Lil from her front porch.

Dil smiled and whispered. "That she is." Dil kissed Blaer's cheek, but added in his normal voice, "But you don't have to whisper around her. So long as you're not shouting, she won't wake up."

Lil smiled.

Dil maintained his smile and asked, "So where's your bedroom at?"

"It's just down the hall. Let me take you there."

Lil directed Dil down a hallway just past the master room. On the wall were some pictures that Dil tried to catch a glimpse of, but he was unable to while he carried Blaer. Eventually, Lil opened the door to her master bedroom. Lil had a bedspread that matched Blaer's dress, and her walls matched Blaer's bow.

Dil grinned. "Kind of interesting."

"What is?"

"Your bedspread matches Blaer's dress, and your walls match Blaer's bow."

"Unique coincidence, Dil. I like lavender, and these walls match my bedroom from when I was a child."

Dil nodded. "Point well taken."

"Anyway, I'll wait for you in the living room," Lil said, while she left her bedroom, and partially closed its door.

After Lil left, Dil returned his attention to his daughter. Dil gently placed Blaer on the bed, and sat her diaper bag on the floor. After he did so, Dil placed some pillows around her, so she would not roll off the bed. With Blaer secure, Dil gently brushed her hair and said, "Sleep well, my little strawberry blonde haired girl." Dil kissed his daughter's cheek, and quietly closed a portion of the bedroom door, before he exited the room.

* * *

With Blaer asleep on Lil's bed, Dil had a moment to observe the pictures in Lil's hallway. One picture was an image of Phil and Lil, when they were children. But the image that caught Dil's attention was one of Tommy, Kimi, Chuckie, Lil, Phil, and himself as teenagers. Dil remembered the picture quite well. The picture was taken outside his parents' home on the first day of the 2006-2007 school year—the last school year that all of them would be in high school together. Dil was 16 at the time, and he smirked at the image. In the picture, Dil gave the headbanger gesture, and wore the same shirt that he currently has one.

"You're a contrast in styles," Lil said, as Dil entered the master room.

"What do you mean?" Dil asked with a smile, while he took a seat on the couch next to Lil.

Lil returned the smile and replied, "Your daughter is dressed in such a pretty lavender dress with a bow, and you're wearing a shirt that has a monster holding some type of globe."

Dil smirked. "Yes, and on the back of the shirt it says 'DIO KICKS ASS'."

Lil chuckled. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"Just some water."

Lil entered her kitchen, and returned with a bottle of water. She handed the water to Dil.

"Thanks," Dil said, while he took the bottle from Lil. Dil took a drink and added, "It's interesting that you mentioned this shirt."

"Why's that?" asked Lil.

"After I put Blaer to bed, I was looking at some of the pictures on the wall, and I saw the one of you, me, Tommy, Kimi, Chuckie, and Phil from August of 2006. The last year all of us would be in high school together."

"That's right! Angelica and Susie had already graduated, right?"

Dil nodded. "I was wearing this shirt in that pic."

Lil laughed. "I remember now. I think your mom told you that you couldn't wear that shirt to school."

Dil smirked. "She did." Dil took another drink. "But I did so anyway."

Lil laughed. "Did you get caught?"

"Eventually."

Again, Lil laughed. "So what happened?"

"They made me turn my shirt inside out, and told me never to wear it again."

Lil chuckled. "You know, I always wondered what it was like for you during your senior year? Since basically, you were left in school all by yourself."

Dil took a drink. "Well, you had your headbanger crowd in school, so I obviously associated with them, which I'm sure you assumed anyway."

Lil nodded.

"But it was rough for the first few days, since all my childhood friends, and my brother, were gone. I think that I may have composed a few songs in my bedroom on some of those early nights during my senior year." Dil took another drink and added, "Plus, I had my metal."

Lil smiled. "Did you play a lot of Dio?"

Dil returned the smile. "Of course."

Lil maintained her smile and asked, "So what all did you and Blaer do today?"

Dil took another drink. "Well, as you know, I took Blaer to see her maternal grandmother. Blaer had such a fun time romping around Iris Pangborn's home…"

"I take it that's Dezirae's mother?"

Dil nodded. "Yes. Anyway, we stayed at her house for a couple of hours. Iris presented Blaer with a teddy bear that was made from quilts. She said that she had made it for Dezirae, and that Dezirae had called it 'Patchy', when she was a little girl."

Lil smiled. "Did Blaer understand it?"

"I'm not really sure. There's a part of me that thinks Blaer has an understanding of her mother, and another part of me that thinks that she does not."

"She was barely a year old."

Dil nodded. "Yeah, I know." Dil took another drink and added, "Before we went to see Iris, we did stop at Dezirae's grave. I wanted Blaer to have a brief visit with her mom."

Lil smiled. "That's sweet. I remember Chas taking Chuckie to visit his mom's grave, when we were little. Chuckie told me that he occasionally takes Kirk to visit his 'grandma's grave'.

Dil returned the smile. "I took a picture of her at Dezirae's grave. Would you like to see it?"

"Sure."

Dil showed Lil the picture that he took of Blaer at her mother's headstone on his cellphone.

"Blaer looks really pretty," said Lil. "But there's just a sadness with that picture, when you think about it."

Dil nodded. "I know, but again, I don't think Blaer truly understands all of it. Regardless of which, I like this picture better. It was taken moments ago in your driveway."

Dil showed Lil his 'preferred picture' from his iPhone. In it, Blaer was sleeping in her car seat with her baby bottle dangling from her mouth and her free hand on one of the ears of the teddy bear her grandmother had given her.

Lil laughed. "Aww, she looks so cute."

Dil smiled. "Yeah, she's my baby girl. She had a pretty busy day today, obviously. She…"

"Daddy!" interjected Blaer from Lil's bedroom. Moments after Blaer called for her father, she began to cry.

"She must be scared," said Dil. "She's in an unfamiliar place."

Dil left his spot next to Lil, and attended to his daughter. Lil followed.

"It's all right, baby girl," Dil said, as he entered Lil's bedroom.

Blaer, who was still crying, toddled to her father. Dil scooped her up, and kissed her cheek. "It's all right, sweet baby girl," whispered Dil. "It's all right."

Lil smiled at the scene.

Blaer ceased crying, and Dil turned to Lil. "Blaer needs her diaper changed. Is there any place where I can do that at?"

"Any place is fine, Dil—just so long as what's in that diaper doesn't get on my bed-sheets or on my floor."

Dil laughed. "Don't worry that's not going to happen."

Lil smiled. "Okay, I'll see you back in the living room."

"Okay, see you then, Lil."

Around ten minutes later, Dil returned to the master room. In his arms, he carried Blaer, who was partially awake and partially asleep. Dil took his spot on the couch, and placed Blaer on his lap. Blaer, however, decided to re-position herself. She stretched herself out, and placed her head in her father's lap.

Lil smiled. "She's such a pretty girl."

Dil returned the smile. "Yeah, I know."

Lil ran some fingers through Blaer's hair. "Is it hard?"

"Is what hard?"

"Changing diapers."

Dil chuckled. "I got used to it. I didn't really have a choice, after Dezirae passed away. If Mom and Dad, or the Pangborns, don't change Blaer, that leaves only me by default."

Lil grinned, but as she did so, Blaer slowly moved her head. Blaer's brown eyes made contact with Lil's eyes. Lil smiled. "We have the same eye color, cutie. Your daddy was telling me all about your busy day today."

Blaer turned to her father with a curious look.

Dil laughed. "I was telling Lil how you were running all over your Grandma Iris's house today."

Blaer returned her head to her father's thigh.

Dil ran some fingers through Blaer's hair, and finished the last of his water. "Her mom arranged it all, you know?"

"Huh?" said a confused Lil. "What do you mean?"

Dil described his dream from the previous evening. His encounter with Dio, and his encounter with Dezirae—although he left out his and Dezirae's 'sexual escapade' on the Silver Mountain. "Ironically, that's why I'm wearing this DIO shirt. I bought this shirt from the DIO concert back in 2004. I just thought it was appropriate to wear, due to the dream. With that being said, I don't know, if it was true, or if it was all just a dream. In many respects, I don't care. It's not something that I want to dwell on. All I know is that I felt a sense of peace, when I woke up. It's a sense of peace that I haven't felt in months, and it makes me feel as though I can finally move on with my life."

Lil smiled, when Dil informed her of his revelation. She decided that it would be best not to bring up what Rachel had told her the previous day. However, she was a little stunned that her name was mentioned in the story. "What did Dezirae say about me?"

"She said that if you end up being the girl in my life, she still wants to burn the sky with my first."

Lil maintained her smile. "Well, I think I can let Dezirae do that, if that was to happen."

Dil returned the smile.

"Do you think it will happen?" asked Lil.

"I don't know. Fate's a strange thing."

"That it is," Lil said, while she kept her smile. Then Lil secured Dil's hand, and with her free hand, she brushed his hair. "Sweet little Heavy Metal King David."

Dil blushed.

The two shared a kiss, but as they did so, Blaer gasped.

Lil giggled. "That's something you and Kirk will do one day."

"Over my dead body they will," said Dil.

Lil laughed.

And Dil smiled.

The two prepared to share another kiss, when their cellphones indicated that they had received a text message.

"Well, that's odd," said Dil.

"Yeah, that's something that doesn't happen too often," added Lil.

Dil checked his cellphone. The text message came from his brother, Tommy. "It's from my brother."

Lil chuckled. "If you want to keep the 'oddness factor' going, this one came from his 'significant other'."

"Kimi?"

Lil nodded. "Yep."

"What does she have to say?"

Lil checked the message on her cellphone. "She's basically telling me to come by her apartment at five this evening. What does yours say?"

Dil checked his text message. "Basically the same thing—Tommy's telling me to come to Kimi's at five."

"I wonder what's going on?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out this evening at five."


	14. The Sky Will Burn One Day

**Author's Note**: Greetings, everyone! Well, we have reached the end, but I will have a final note for everyone at the end of the story. This chapter is quite a long one, so maybe that is a good turn of events for a final chapter. With that being said, I decided to take a little liberty for this chapter by giving a name for the 'town' where this story is based. With that being said, I appreciate all the feedback this story has received so far, and I hope this final chapter will not disappoint.

**We Will Burn the Sky**

**Chapter XIV**

The first days of May brought a light drizzle, and the first Friday of the month was no exception. But by late afternoon, the rain had ceased, and the heavens had opened. Through the heavens, came a rainbow. Perhaps this was a positive omen?

At five o'clock that evening, the members of Dark Stairway and Green-Eyed met at The Friendly Tap to discuss their set lists.

"Okay," began Andrew, "we often play a few covers in our set lists, and I know that you guys do the same. However, for our first set list, we have a lot of covers, which is solely at Dil's request, because he has a bunch of songs that he wants to dedicate tonight. Anyway, we need to know what songs that you'll be covering?"

Zack Shortman, the lead singer of Green-Eyed, replied, "You want us to play for about an hour, correct?"

Andrew nodded. "That's the plan."

"I thought that we'd cover Metallica's 'Seek and Destroy', 'Over the Wall' from Testament, and 'Heaven and Hell' from Black Sabbath."

Dil nodded. "That sounds good. We're not covering any of those songs tonight, so we're not going to have any repeats. I just wanted to make sure that I'd know in case I had to change some of the songs I wanted to dedicate this evening."

Those present nodded.

"Well, if you can excuse me for a moment, I need to talk to Andrew," added Dil.

Again, those present nodded.

* * *

Dil gestured Andrew to a portion of The Friendly Tap, where they would be out of sight.

"So what's up?" asked Andrew.

"Do you have my medicine?"

Andrew grinned. "By 'medicine' do you mean your half-a-joint?"

Dil returned the grin and nodded.

Andrew chuckled. "Yes."

"Well?" said Dil, while he displayed his palm.

Andrew shook his head with a grin, as he placed the joint in Dil's hand.

"Thanks," said Dil.

"I take it that somehow I'm your 'middle man' for pot now?"

"On this day? Yes. Overall? No."

"That's good. It's not something that I particularly like doing."

Dil nodded. "I understand that. I would normally do this at home, but I can't anymore. Blaer's getting into everything. I wouldn't want her to find her daddy's half-a-joint that he needs to smoke, before he sings."

Andrew chuckled. "She wouldn't try to eat it, would she?"

"I'm not really sure, but I don't want to find out. She actually got into one of my robes the other day, and started chewing on it. Look." Dil removed his iPhone, and showed Andrew a picture from the closet in his master bedroom. In the photograph, Blaer Pickles found herself in his father's red and black robe, which was much too big for her. Blaer displayed a grin, which could be seen around a portion of the robe's sleeve that was in her mouth.

Andrew chuckled. "That's funny."

Dil smiled. "Yeah, it is. I actually thought about scolding her for this, but when I saw that cute little grin, I couldn't. All I could do was laugh, and take a picture. I actually decided to wear that robe tonight, but from now on I'm placing my robes in protective bags."

Andrew nodded, but he also took a closer look at Dil's robe. "Isn't that the robe that you wore, when you jumped off the stage in Tokyo?"

"Sure is—those tailors did a great job fixing it. It's baby proof."

Andrew laughed.

Dil smiled. "There's something else that I wanted to ask you about."

"What's that?"

"When Green-Eyed played that show at The Nightlife, the one that I wasn't able to attend, did they do a cover of Black Sabbath?"

"Sure did—they did a cover of 'Heaven and Hell'."

"But when they did so, did some in the crowd think that they were going to do some tribute for Ozzy?"

Andrew laughed. "They sure did."

"What exactly happened?"

Andrew gave a description of what happened at The Nightlife, and his description matched almost entirely what Dil saw during his trip to the 'Silver Mountain'.

"…Interesting," said Dil.

"Why did you ask?"

"I was just curious. That's what someone had told me, and I was just curious." But in his thoughts, Dil added, _"I'm not going to dwell on it too much."_

* * *

At six in the evening, the members of Green-Eyed set up their equipment, while the members of Dark Stairway played billiards, had a drink at the bar, or played an updated arcade version of _Street Fighter II_. Dil Pickles, however, was in The Friendly Tap's storage facility. It was in this isolated room that Dil smoked his 'half-a-joint'. Dil predicted that there would be a large turnout this evening, so he wanted to have his 'half-a-joint' earlier in the evening. "Damn, that feels good," Dil said, after he finished the joint.

As Dil left the storage facility, he heard the voice of a young child. The young child exclaimed, "Daddy!"

Dil gasped. When he turned to the voice, Dil discovered his daughter, his parents, and Lil.

Blaer, who was dressed in a toddler sized DIO We Rock shirt, toddled to her father, and once again exclaimed, "Daddy!"

Dil smiled, and scooped up his daughter. "Hey, baby girl! Aren't you a present surprise?" Dil kissed Blaer's cheek, and she giggled. In his thoughts, however, Dil added, _"I'm not sure how pleasant of a surprise it would have been had Mom and Dad seen me smoking that joint."_

Dil turned to his parents and Lil. "It is an odd surprise, however. I didn't expect to see all of you here."

Lil giggled. "When I dropped Blaer off at your mom and dad's, she kept asking over and over again about her daddy. I told your parents what time Green-Eyed was going to play, and they thought that there was time to bring Blaer by."

"Well, I'm glad that you did," Dil said, before he once again kissed Blaer's cheek. "I'm also glad that you decided to leave her dressed as I did earlier today."

"Well," began Didi, "considering the place we were going to take her to, I don't think that it would make much sense to put her in a dress."

Dil laughed. "Glad you realized that, Mom."

"Dil, I think we should take a picture of you in your robe with Blaer," suggested Lil. "I think it would look great with the picture that I took of you two earlier."

"And what picture was that?"

Lil showed Dil, Stu, and Didi the picture that she had taken earlier on her cellphone. In the photograph, Blaer's and Dil's backs were to the camera, while Blaer sat on Dil's shoulders, as the two observed the rainbow that had formed earlier in the sky.

"Aww," said Didi. "That's a wonderful picture."

Dil smiled. "That it is."

"So will you take the picture with Blaer in your robe?" asked Lil.

"Yeah, sure, give me a minute." Dil kissed his daughter, and returned her to the floor. "I'll be back in a minute, baby girl."

But as Dil started to leave, Blaer followed.

"No, sweetling," began Didi, while she secured Blaer, "you need to stay here with Grandma and Grandpa."

Blaer, however, pouted. "I wanna go wit Daddy!"

Dil turned to the scene and smiled. "It's all right. She can come with me."

Dil took Blaer from her grandparents, and carried her into The Friendly Tap's office, which served as his dressing room. Dil removed his shirt that had the cover art of Black Sabbath's _Live Evil_, and put on his red and black robe. Moments later, Dil returned with Blaer in his arms.

"You look so cute together," giggled Lil, before she took a picture.

"Thanks," Dil said with a smile, before he gave his daughter a kiss.

"Is that what you're going to wear this evening?" asked a stunned Didi.

Dil grinned. "Sure is."

Didi shrugged, before she took a picture of her son and granddaughter. "Just seems odd."

Dil maintained his grin. "Not any odder than 'Disco Stu' and his leisure suit," Dil added with a gesture to his father.

"Hey now! I love my leisure suit," Stu said, while he took a picture on his cellphone.

"Sure, Dad, and when you're dead, we'll have you buried in it."

Lil laughed.

Didi tried not to laugh, but she could not suppress it.

Even Stu had a grin.

Blaer giggled as well; however, her giggles were due to the laughter of the adults. Yet, as the last of the photographs were being taken, something over Dil's shoulder caught Blaer's attention. She beamed. The adults could see this, but they could not tell what had excited Blaer.

"What are you looking at, Blaer?" Dil asked, while he turned to see what was behind him.

Dil saw James playing _Street Fighter II_, but nothing out of the ordinary. "Maybe something James did on the arcade caught her attention. Oh, well."

"I would hope that a game like that wouldn't catch her attention," added Didi.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Mom. She's not even two yet."

"Well, regardless of which, we need to take her home."

Dil nodded. "Very true." He gave his daughter a kiss, and handed her to her grandparents. "Be a good girl tonight for Grandma and Grandpa."

* * *

At seven that evening, a fairly large crowd had already descended upon The Friendly Tap, which made Dil happy that he had reserved a table for 'the gang'. As Green-Eyed started to play, the members of Dark Stairway decided to remain out of sight. They did this, because they did not want fans asking for autographs, while Green-Eyed tried to perform. Dark Stairway wanted The Friendly Tap's patrons to have the opportunity to hear Green-Eyed's music without them serving as distractions.

In Dil's case, he remained in The Friendly Tap's office with his feet on a bench. Dil reclined in his robe with a bottle of Bud Light, while he listened to Green-Eyed perform. One song Green-Eyed played, which caught Dil's attention, was an original piece called, 'Sea of Life'. The song had a power metal and Celtic feeling to it. _"For some reason, this song reminds me of that time when Dezirae and I first started dating,"_ thought Dil. _"I remember that we were at the park that Angelica always takes Ian to, and we happened to come across this brook. I remember that some squirrels played in the trees above us, and it was so beautiful—almost like a scene out of the Garden of Eden. I don't know why I'm thinking about these things right now. Maybe it's because of the Celtic themes in this song, and I'm part Scottish? I don't know. But as I recall that scene with Dezirae, I smile. Maybe in the future, I'll repeat that scene with Lil?"_

As the song concluded, Zack Shortman addressed the crowd. "Everyone, thank you! We want to thank you for the warm reception we have received, and we want to thank Dark Stairway for allowing us to open for them tonight. It's a huge honor. With that being said, everyone, get ready for Stairway!"

* * *

Around 8:15, Dil Pickles briefly emerged from the shadows to purchase another beer, and to check on Dark Stairway's equipment. For this particular show, the members of Dark Stairway decided to let their new soundman, Todd Davis, deal with that portion of the equipment. Dil informed Todd how he wanted to enter the stage area, and he wanted to make certain there was no feedback from the microphone. Dil also took a moment to sign some autographs, before he returned to The Friendly Tap's office.

Shortly after 8:30, Dil heard rapping on the office door. "Who is it?"

"It's me. Lil."

Dil opened the door to reveal Lil wearing a black Dark Stairway shirt and red jean shorts. Dil smirked. "Red and black, I like the colors."

Lil returned the smirk. "They match your robe."

Dil smiled. "Please come in."

Lil entered, and Dil shut the door behind her. The two reclined on the bench that Dil had previously used to put his feet on.

The two shared a quick kiss, before Dil said, "I want to thank you for babysitting Blaer earlier today. That was very nice of you."

Lil smiled. "She's a sweet little girl."

Dil returned the smile. "That she is. I just wish that I knew more 'girly things' that I could do with her. But as a guy, I don't know much on that subject."

Lil maintained her smile, and kissed Dil's cheek.

Dil blushed.

Lil ran her fingers through Dil's hair. "Are you ready for tonight?"

Dil nodded. "I am, but I'm slightly nervous."

Lil chuckled. "How can you be nervous? You've played much bigger venues than this."

Dil took a drink of his Bud Light. "True, but I'm going to be dedicating our first set. I want it to be magical."

"Oh, it'll be magical, Dil. You're the 'Heavy Metal King David'. Everything is magical with you."

Dil smiled. "That's nice you to say." Dil turned to the floor, before he turned back to Lil. "You know, I took a little visit to Christ Episcopal today?"

"Really?"

Dil nodded. "Yeah, thought I'd say a brief prayer."

Lil smiled.

And Dil returned the smile. "Has any of the 'gang' arrived?"

"Well, I'm obviously here. Phil's here with Rachel. Chuckie's here with Ashley. And Angelica arrived just a few minutes ago."

Dil nodded. "I guess all we're missing then is Tommy and Kimi, since Susie won't be coming."

"They may have already arrived. If Tommy's out there, do you want me to send him back here?"

Dil shook his head. "No, I have to start performing soon."

"Okay then," Lil said, before she gave Dil a quick kiss. "Well, I'll let you finish your beer, so you can get ready."

* * *

At five minutes until nine, Dil stood outside The Friendly Tap's office door with Dark Stairway's new sound man. "So is everything ready?" asked Dil.

"Everything's ready," replied Todd, while he gave Dil his cordless microphone.

"I won't receive any feedback from the mic, will I?"

"No, I tested it."

Dil nodded. "Good. Could you tell Andrew, and the other boys up front, that I'm ready?"

Todd returned the nod. "Sure will."

Dil took a deep breath, just before Andrew began to play the opening notes of 'Coming Home' from the Scorpions. "'Every morning, when I wake up yawning, I'm still far away'," sang Dil. 'Coming Home' had a very peaceful opening, and Dil used this moment of 'peace' to slowly make his way to the stage area, and to observe his audience. Most of the crowd wore shirts that depicted some particular hard rock or heavy metal band. Dil also noticed some observers outside The Friendly Tap. They appeared to be teenagers. Many of them shouted Dil's name, and gave him the headbanger gesture. Dil smiled and returned the gesture. When Dil turned to the table he reserved for the 'gang', he noticed that his brother wore a Dark Stairway shirt, which also made him smile.

"'Dream we're going out on stage, it feels like,'" continued Dil, as he reached the stage area, and stood before the other members of Dark Stairway. Then the music stopped, and Dil flashed a wicked grin to the crowd, before he extended his arms and gave the headbanger gesture. After Dil did so, Dark Stairway resumed playing 'Coming Home', but the song was noticeably heavier. As 'Coming Home' concluded, Dil added, "Coming home to Missouri, California!"

Those present cheered.

And Dil smiled. "Thank you, and it's good to be home again! A big welcome from Dark Stairway to all of you. Despite some of the places that we have played, this is one place that I have always wanted to play."

Again, the crowd cheered.

Again, Dil smiled. "Yes, and all it took was a record contract and a change in ownership."

Those present laughed.

Again, Dil maintained his smile. "But with that being said, I have a song that I want to dedicate to one of the prettiest girls in the world. A little girl by the name of Blaer Trixie Pickles."

Angelica, Lil, Kimi, Rachel, and Ashley gave a collective 'aww'—and Tommy, Phil, and Chuckie smiled—at Dil's dedication to his daughter.

"This is 'Sign of the Hammer'," added Dil, before Dark Stairway began its cover of the Manowar song. Throughout the song, Dil would occasionally make the image of a 'hammer' by placing his forearms together in the air. Once 'Sign of the Hammer' concluded, Dil readdressed the crowd. "Thank you! Now then, let us play a piece about a famous imperial couple, whom my brother needs to put on a soundtrack."

Tommy chuckled, as Dark Stairway began to play their original piece, 'Nicky and Alix'. When the song concluded, Dil said, "Remember, Tommy, put that song on a soundtrack. Your niece would really like it."

Tommy laughed, and turned to Kimi.

Dil observed Tommy, and tried to read his lips. Dil could not make out everything that Tommy said, but he did seem to recognize two words 'red' and 'rocker'. Dil smirked. "No, Tommy, I'm not 'The Red Rocker'—that's Sammy Hagar. I'm the 'Heavy Metal King David'."

The crowd roared.

Tommy Pickles chuckled.

Dil Pickles chuckled as well. "But let me say that I'm glad that my big brother is here tonight, because a portion this set is dedicated to my brother."

Those in attendance applauded.

"Just think, Tommy, you'll now be on _Blabbermouth_," Dil said with a smirk.

Those in attendance laughed.

"But this set is not just about my big brother, it's also about someone else." Dil turned to Kimi. "Kimi," Dil began with a gesture. "Kimi, we have known you since childhood, but last month my brother posed a question to you. My brother asked you to marry him, and you accepted."

The crowd applauded.

"Kimi, welcome into the Pickles family."

Once again, the crowd applauded.

Kimi, however, became 'misty eyed', and Tommy kissed her cheek.

During the applause, Johnny observed Angelica. Angelica displayed a bright smile, while she applauded Tommy and Kimi. But Johnny wondered if what Tommy did for Kimi, he should do for Angelica.

Dil smiled. "Kimi, while you may be entering the Pickles family, and you might have some of those 'butterflies in your stomach', I ask you not to be afraid, for it's the 'Black Masquerade'." Dil's words led into a cover of Rainbow's 'Black Masquerade'.

When 'Black Masquerade' concluded, Dil returned to the crowd, but more specifically to Kimi. "Kimi, I highly doubt that you're the girl in these lyrics, but we're going to perform this song anyway. This is Crimson Glory's 'Queen of the Masquerade'."

As 'Queen of the Masquerade' concluded, Dil turned to his brother. "Tommy, if Kimi ever acts that way, make sure to find a priest."

Tommy laughed.

"All right then," continued Dil. "We have portrayed Kimi in a negative light. Now let's portray her in a more positive one." Dil turned to Kimi. "Kimi, I'm going to christen you as something better."

Kimi gave Dil an 'intrigued look.'

Dil made the sign of the cross in the air and said, "Kimi, I have now christened you as the 'Queen of Winter'." With Dil's introduction concluded, Dark Stairway played its version of Cain's Offering's 'My Queen of Winter'.

After the closing of 'My Queen of Winter', Dil once again addressed the crowd—or more specifically Kimi. "All right now, Kimi, we are going to move you from being the 'Queen of Winter' to the 'Princess of the Dawn'."

Andrew grinned at Dil's introduction, before he played the opening riff to Accept's 'Princess of the Dawn'.

When 'Princess of the Dawn' concluded, Dil tossed his hair, and turned to his brother. "Tommy, big brother, I can't exactly leave you out of all this wonderful praise now, can I?"

The patrons chuckled.

Tommy smirked.

"You see, everyone, since Tommy and I were kids, Tommy has always been a fan of the great heavy metal singer, Ronnie James Dio."

Many in the crowd chanted 'Dio! Dio! Dio!'

Tommy, however, smiled and muttered, "Not quite."

Dil smiled. "Now then, I have to turn to my 'symbolic blood brother' on guitar, since my actual blood brother is in the audience."

Those present chuckled.

Dil turned to Andrew. "Andrew Jacobvich Stanislov, the Russian wizard, as someone who also has Russian blood, I seem to have difficulty remembering something that should be so obvious. What was the name of that band that Dio started with Ritchie Blackmore?"

Andrew smirked. "Should I slap you upside the head?"

The patrons chuckled.

Dil returned the smirk. "You might."

The patrons laughed.

Andrew grinned. "I think it was a band called…Rainbow."

Dil slapped the back of his head. "That's the one! Dear God, how could I forget that?"

Again, the patrons laughed.

Dil chuckled. "Damn, I'm having fun!"

Once again, the patrons laughed—and many applauded.

Dil smiled. "Okay, now we've already performed one song from the very last version of Rainbow, but we thought now that we'd perform a pair of songs from Rainbow's early years with Dio. This first song has a unique meaning, for it's about a stable boy and a princess, who fall in love. The princess sneaks away from the castle. There's a bed of straw against the princess's lace. And both of them have the idea of 'catching the rainbow'. So this song is for Tommy and Kimi, and it's called 'Catch the Rainbow'."

Tommy and Kimi smiled. Neither of two really cared much for Dil's music, but they were very moved by Dark Stairway's version of Rainbow's 'Catch the Rainbow', which was both 'haunting' and 'heavy'— but the two particularly enjoyed the end of the song, when Dil informed them that they had indeed 'caught the rainbow'.

"All right then," began Dil. "For our next song from Rainbow, we thought that we'd talk about this wizard."

Many in the crowd cheered—they knew what song was coming.

"And this wizard has all these slaves, and he forces them to 'build this tower of stone with their flesh and bone'. They do this, so this wizard can observe the stars. And because this wizard is observing the stars so much, he is christened 'Stargazer'."

Johnny, channeling Cozy Powell, immediately began to play the opening notes to Rainbow's 'Stargazer'. The song was certainly one of the heaviest that Dark Stairway had played so far, but as it concluded Dil felt a presence. Dil heard someone sing, 'I see a rainbow rising'. The voice was certainly male, but Dil could not identify its owner from those in the crowd.

When 'Stargazer' concluded, Dil turned to Chris and whispered, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"The words, 'I see a rainbow rising'?"

Chris chuckled. "Yeah, you sang them."

Dil shook his head. "No, these words did not come from me or from anybody else in the crowd."

"Maybe you just heard your voice echo, and it sounded different with all the people here?"

Dil nodded. "Maybe."

* * *

From a magical place, a young woman observed what was taking place at The Friendly Tap. This young woman displayed a bright smile. _"That's where he carried me around the bar that day,"_ she thought.

"You're observing him, huh?" asked a voice.

The young woman, who happened to be Dezirae, turned to the voice. The voice belonged to Ronnie James Dio. Dezirae maintained her smile and replied, "I suppose the same could be said for you."

Dio chuckled. "True."

"You know, you certainly could have made your presence better known to him."

Dio nodded. "I could have, but I chose not to. Of course, the same could be said for you as well, with what happened earlier."

Dezirae grinned. "That's true, but I just wanted to give my daughter a 'slight peek of me'."

Dio smiled, while he gestured for Dezirae to observe what was taking place at The Friendly Tap.

Dil tossed his hair. "Everyone, this song goes out to a lot of people. Those who are here; those who are not here. But if we are able to do this with those who we love in the end, then I would say that we've all done well." Dil turned to Tommy and Kimi. "Tommy, Kimi, I hope that one day you will be 'burning the sky together'. This is 'We'll Burn the Sky'."

From the Silver Mountain, Dezirae smiled.

"I think that I will leave you alone," said Dio. "This is a moment for you."

Dezirae nodded, but she maintained her smile and her focus on Dil, while Dio walked away. Her smile increased, as Dark Stairway played the opening notes of the Scorpions's 'We'll Burn the Sky'. _"I remember that evening,"_ thought Dezirae, _"when we watched the Sun set, and it glowed like fire. You told me about this song, and its meaning for you. You mentioned how your grandparents were 'burning the sky together'. This is true. I have witnessed it. Dylan Prescott Pickles, one day we are going to be like your grandparents. We are going to burn the sky together, and I will be the 'first in line' to do so. With all due respect to Lil, or to whomever comes into your life, I will be the 'first in line'. When it comes time, Dylan Prescott Pickles, the 'Heavy Metal King David', you and I will 'burn the sky' together, and those on Earth will see how we 'shine'."_

**The End**

**Author's Note**: I want to thank everyone, who followed and reviewed _Always Somewhere_, and decided to also follow and review _We Will Burn the Sky_. For now, the curtain has come down on our cast. I have heard some individuals wanting to write more from what I have written, and I would probably approve, so long as I heard their ideas. For now, I might write a few short stories from the characters more in their teenage years. But for now, the curtain has come down. Will it come up again? Who knows.


End file.
